WASHINGTON, D.C. – Five days before Tax Day, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a group of 44 Senators to introduce the Working Families Tax Relief Act. The legislation would cut taxes for workers and families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). EITC and CTC are two of the most effective tools in the existing tax code to help low-income Americans and working families. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the legislation would help more than 400,000 Maine people, including 164,000 Maine children.

“A lot of changes were pushed through in 2017’s misguided tax bill, but unfortunately most of these shifts were designed to benefit the wealthiest members of our society,” said Senator King. “That’s not the type of tax reform most Americans need – they need real relief that will help them care for themselves and their families. The EITC and CTC are two of the most important tools to help lower-income Maine people get ahead, and I’ll keep pushing to strengthen these tax credits so more Maine families have the opportunity to succeed.”

Senator King has pushed to make sure Maine taxpayers can navigate this tax season, which is the first filing season that will reflect the new requirements and consequences of the tax bill that was passed in December 2017. This week, he wrote a letter challenging the IRS to refocus its limited resources away from disproportionately auditing lower-income households who utilize the EITC. In March, he wrote a weekly column updating Maine people on the details and concerns he’d been receiving surrounding the impact of the new tax law, and urged Maine people to reach out to their local Taxpayer Advocate with questions. Also in March, the IRS announced it would reopen the Bangor Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) following a letter that Senator King sent with Senator Susan Collins and Congressman Jared Golden stressing the importance of the Bangor TAC’s service to rural Maine people.

More specifically, the Working Families Tax Relief Act would:

• Boost the incomes of 46 million households and 114 million people, including 43 million children.
• Lift 7 million people out of poverty, including 3 million children.
• Expand the EITC for families with children by roughly 25 percent.
• Significantly expand the EITC for workers without children and make the credit available for people starting at age 19 up to age 67. Currently, workers without children can be pulled under the poverty line by taxes. Expanding the EITC would fix that. 
• Make the CTC fully refundable, so the more than 26 million children who were left out of the Trump tax law get the support they deserve. 
• Create a Young Child Tax Credit to provide extra support to children five and under, when research says they need it most. 
• Allow workers to draw a $500 advance payment on their EITC so that families aren’t forced to turn to predatory payday lenders when the car breaks down or other unexpected expenses come up.