State EITC solves and is easy to administer
Erica Williams et al 20, (former Vice President for State Fiscal Policy at CBPP), Samantha Waxman (Deputy Director of State Policy Research) and Julian Legendre (State Visual Communications Specialist with the State Fiscal Policy (SFP) team.). March 9. "States Can Adopt or Expand Earned Income Tax Credits to Build a Stronger Future Economy" https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/states-can-adopt-or-expand-earned-income-tax-credits-to-build-a //pipk
Twenty-nine states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have enacted their own version of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to help working families paid low wages meet basic needs.[1] State EITCs build on the success of the federal credit by keeping people on the job and reducing hardship for working families and children. This important state support also extends the federal EITC’s well-documented long-term positive effects on children, boosting the nation’s future economic prospects.
State EITCs provide extensive benefits to children, families, and communities, and are straightforward to administer and to claim. Lawmakers in states without their own EITC should consider enacting one. The small number of states that have cut back or eliminated their credits should reverse course, and states that have limited their credits so that they only offset income taxes should expand them to help offset the full range of state and local taxes that low-income households pay. In addition, states can extend the credit to certain workers who currently are ineligible, such as younger workers not claiming children and those filing taxes with an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). All of these steps would substantially enhance the credits’ impact. By investing in an EITC, states can make a real difference in the lives of working families with low and moderate incomes.