Today (June 18) is the last day of Senate session before a short break. During the break, members will be developing a funding plan for road and transportation infrastructure needs, and elimination of the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is being discussed as a source of partial funding. It is critical that we urge lawmakers on the Senate side to protect the credit, as the Michigan House has already approved a bill eliminating it. Please take a few minutes to email your State Senator today to preserve this important credit for the working poor.

This credit on state income taxes is an important policy that helps working individuals and families move out of poverty. Now this bill continues to the full House for a vote. It’s urgent that you email your state Representative to call for the defeat of this bill and the protection of the credit.

Opposing this bill is important because nearly 25% of Michigan’s children live in poverty today; the elimination of this state EITC would further harm these children. The preservation of this state Earned Income Tax Credit is an important anti-poverty tool.

The Michigan Catholic Conference has testified against House Bill 4609 highlighting the benefits of the state EITC: “Michigan’s elected officials know a solution is needed to fix the state’s infrastructure, with varying proposals and ideas continuing to come forward since the May 5 special election. While their effort to fix the roads is encouraged, Michigan Catholic Conference opposes efforts to generate revenue for these repairs by eliminating the state Earned Income Tax Credit. The roads are in crisis, yet poverty continues to remain a significant concern as, for example, Michigan ranks 35th among states with nearly 25 percent of our children living in poverty. The state EITC is a proven tax policy that gives low-income workers and their families a hand up, not a hand out. As conversations about state funding for road repairs move forward, Michigan Catholic Conference urges elected officials to hold the state’s EITC harmless.”

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