Congress and the administration need to ensure our tax policies help the most vulnerable Americans. In 2018, refundable tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC), moved 7.9 million people out of poverty and helped to prevent millions of Americans from falling into poverty.
In 2017, Congress passed a major tax overhaul that widened income and racial disparities—cutting the corporate tax rate and treating low-income households largely as an afterthought. In fact, 11 million children under age 17 in households with the lowest incomes received no improvement in the CTC, even though households earning as high as $400,000 received large increases.
The EITC significantly benefits low-income workers with children. However, low-income workers not raising children in the home receive little or nothing from the EITC. As a result, workers not raising children in the home are the sole group that the federal tax system taxes deeper into poverty.
Research shows that the EITC and CTC increases employment, reduces poverty, and improves the outcomes of children such as better health and higher educational attainment.
Congress should support policies such as the Working Families Tax Relief (H.R. 3157/S.1138). The legislation expands the EITC for workers not raising children in the home, increases the EITC benefit, and makes the CTC fully refundable for lower-income households.
The legislation would benefit 46 million low- and moderate-income households and 114 people by providing them with more income.
"Jesus said ...
'You give them something to eat.'"
Afghanistan would be considered likely to have high rates of hunger because at least two of the major causes of global hunger affect it—armed conflict and fragile governmental institutions.
Malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all preventable deaths among children under 5. Every year, the world loses hundreds of thousands of young children and babies to hunger-related causes.
Bread for the World is calling on the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to build a better 1,000-Days infrastructure in the United States.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith.” These words from Colossians 2:6 remind us of the faith that is active in love for our neighbors.
The Bible on...
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to respond to changes in need, making it well suited to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bread for the World and its partners are asking Congress to provide $200 million for global nutrition.
In 2017, 11.8 percent of households in the U.S.—40 million people—were food-insecure, meaning that they were unsure at some point during the year about how they would provide for their next meal.