It would be the first state in the nation, and would help bring down the poverty of immigrant families.
Rosalba has lived in San Diego and filed taxes with his Personal Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for 17 years, but has not been able to benefit from the Earned Income Credit (EITC) due to his undocumented status.
“I have seen people who, for not having a social security number, receive two or three times more than what they give me,” says Rosalba, mother of four children under 16, 10, 8 and 4, and who works in A restaurant in San Diego.
A new report from the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) found that If the state provided tax credits to immigrant families, at least 600,000 Californians would benefit. In Rosalb's case, she could use that money on her children; and it would make a difference between completing for the expense or deciding between bringing food to the table or going to the doctor.
The study How to extend CalEITC to immigrant workers is a gain for everyone, including immigrants in the California Work Income Credit (CalITC) of Sasha Feldstein, CIPC economic justice policy manager, states that with minimal investment, California could be the first state in the country to apply for CalEITC for low-income workers who file taxes in the state regardless of immigration status.
“Including all Californians in the CalEITC is the right thing to do in our state and for immigrant communities. It is a crucial step to fight against income inequality and the state's cost of living, ”says the author of the report.
The study establishes that a powerful message would be sent to the rest of the country; Y California would remain a leader in supporting immigrant rights.
“Federal anti-immigrant policies, such as the expansion of public burden and other proposals of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Justice, reinforce the Federal Administration's message that immigrants are not welcome unless they are white, rich and highly educated, ”they indicate.
And they add that the state can fight against this rhetoric by creating a California for everyone, and include everyone in economic prosperity regardless of immigration status.
“Putting everyone who files taxes at CalEITC is a small but crucial step in the fight for immigrant rights and an effort to end California's poverty. It is also the right thing for the state economy, ”he says.
According to the report, many programs and policies are designated to assist low-income people and boost the economy, but few are as effective as the Work Tax Credit. "For many working families, more than any other program, this credit has helped them out of poverty," they say.
Why is the EITC so effective?
According to the study, because it gives cash to people who work, but live in poverty.
“It helps close the income gap to those who earn less than a minimum full-time salary at a time when inequality continues to grow. That is why the National Academy of Sciences found that the only way to significantly reduce child poverty was to expand and strengthen this credit”, They establish.
For that same reason, California created its own state tax credit, which it called CalEITC.
Although what a person receives in tax credits is based on a variety of factors, in 2018 a single father with two children received up to $ 2,559 from the CalEITC, and $ 5,716 from the federal EITC.
