NEWS
March 4, 2014
Class, here's a pop quiz on Washington's view of economics. Who gave the following unsolicited endorsements of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the refundable federal tax credit for low and moderate income workers? The program gives "families flexibility - it helps them take ownership of their lives. " "A fairly efficient poverty abatement program. " "Promotes work as it reduces poverty. " If you said President Barack Obama, who on Tuesday proposed an expansion of the tax credit as part of his fiscal 2015 budget proposal - or even the usual suspects in the liberal, socialist, income-redistributing, Wall Street-bashing end of the political spectrum - that would be understandable, but it would also be quite wrong.
BUSINESS
By EILEEN AMBROSE | September 17, 2009
The latest statistics last week from the Census Bureau are grim. Household income has fallen sharply; poverty is up. And that's based on data from a year ago, when employment was in better shape. Even more so now, every penny counts. So is there any way to get extra money in your paycheck without asking the boss for a raise? One way is to get an advance on the Earned Income Tax Credit, a credit worth thousands of dollars to lower-income workers. Usually, people claim the credit on their tax returns.
BUSINESS
By EILEEN AMBROSE and EILEEN AMBROSE,PERSONAL FINANCE | February 3, 2009
The earned income tax credit each year puts billions of dollars into the hands of millions of lower- to middle-income workers. Under normal circumstances, one quarter of taxpayers eligible for the credit fail to claim it, partly because the rules are complex and some workers may not be aware they qualify, according to the Internal Revenue Service. But the number of workers missing out on this credit could be even higher this year. Eligibility is tied to income. And if you lost your job or your employer cut your hours last year, you might not realize that your income has fallen to the point where you qualify for the credit for the first time.
BUSINESS
By Nancy Jones-Bonbrest and Nancy Jones-Bonbrest,Special to The Baltimore Sun | January 4, 2009
Name : Rob Bader Salary: $55,000 Age: 38 Years on the job: Four How he got started: Bader received his bachelor's degree from Siena College in New York and attended law school at the University of Toledo, graduating in 1995. He volunteered for a year while living in Boston, working in a soup kitchen and a legal aid office. He moved to Pennsylvania and worked as a legal aid attorney for the next six years. Although he was doing good work, Bader said it became somewhat monotonous, so he and his wife joined the Peace Corps, heading to Africa for two years.
NEWS
By Liz F. Kay and Liz F. Kay,Sun reporter | March 19, 2008
Oretha Jones hasn't filed a federal tax return in at least two decades, but she will this year. The 81-year-old West Baltimore resident learned yesterday that she has to fill out a tax return - not usually necessary for those who rely mostly on Social Security benefits - to get her tax rebate, part of an economic stimulus package approved by Congress this year. "I've been waiting to find out what I had to do," Jones said. "I was wondering if seniors get it, and I was trying to find out how."
NEWS
By MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE INFORMATION SERVICES | February 6, 2008
For these men at the bottom of the income spectrum, we have focused largely on punitive measures rather than removing barriers to employment. ... We need to boost earnings for these workers to attack the poverty and economic insecurity that confronts them."