La Raza Endorses New Tax Package
WASHINGTON - NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, has expressed support for the new framework agreement on taxes, which will continue critical tax credits for low-income working families for the next two years. The bipartisan compromise announced last night by the White House preserves expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit, along with a boost in the EITC for families with three or more children.
“We applaud President Obama, Secretary Geithner, and leaders on both sides of the aisle for standing up for working families throughout this difficult debate. They made the right choice to invest in working families, who ultimately fuel business activity and job creation,” said NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía.
These measures will provide much-needed support for Latino workers and families, who are among the hardest hit by the nation’s economic crisis. Estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities project the impact of the improved low-income refundable tax credits, which were part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, on low-income Latino families and children in 2011:
Extending the expansions in the Earned Income Tax Credit will benefit:
- 2.1 million Latino families
- 5.2 million Latino children
Extending the expansion of the Child Tax Credit will benefit:
- 3.3 million Latino families
- 6.1 million Latino children
The agreement also includes a new 2% reduction in employee payroll taxes and a yearlong extension of unemployment insurance. The White House says that these measures will benefit 155 million workers and seven million workers, respectively.
“We urge the swift passage of this legislation before the end of the year so families aren’t dealt an unnecessary blow to their paychecks come January 1,” concluded Murguía.
