| 3,962 school-aged youth participated in safe and supportive after-school programs. |
| 14,160 people feel safer and more committed to living in their own neighborhoods. |
| 201,227 people received food to feed their families when they found themselves unable to provide it on their own. |
"Be the change you want to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi
|
|
“Don’t
leave money on the table that could be helping you and your
family…and
don’t sacrifice your hard-earned money for a short-lived
loan.”
Those sentiments are core to the messages that community leaders across
the State of Ohio are disseminating to help promote the Earned Income
Tax Credit initiative during the annual tax season.
The
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax benefit which was
originally enacted in 1975. The legislation was designed, as a
poverty reduction tool, to help low-income workers increase their
financial stability. It incorporates several important benefits
to reduce payroll taxes for eligible employees to supplement wages, and
to make work more attractive than depending on welfare. In recent
years, EITC has become one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty
program
and is helping working families maintain their independence from the
welfare system.
In
addition to the national impact, local collaboratives have
significantly leveraged the EITC as a tool to bring needed dollars back
into a community. As an example, for the 2005 tax season,
metropolitan Dayton, Ohio ranked 52 out of 100 of the largest metro
areas in the country with the number of tax filers who were eligible to
receive earned income tax benefits. With a broad-based
outreach effort, that could mean that the estimated 61,412 eligible
filers would receive a total of $105.8 million through EITC and
potentially bring those dollars back into the local economy.
United
Ways, elected officials, financial institutions, nonprofit agencies and
the IRS have been collaborating for the past eleven (11) tax seasons
across the State of Ohio. One community objective for the yearly
effort is to facilitate a win-win scenario for a public-private
partnership. Another objective for EITC is to provide a budget-friendly
option for working families to avoid the dangers of predatory credit
schemes and “instant loan” offers that target low-income
workers.
The
United Way system in Ohio is committed to addressing Financial
Stability and Independence as a major community priority. Best
practice methods and needs assessment findings confirm that the
economic viability of any region, community or neighborhood is
positively or negativity impacted by its constituents’ capacity
to
maintain adequate personal income and to sustain an overall healthy
economy. Some specific aspects of this priority include:
- safe and affordable housing
- adequate funding for service resources
- workforce development opportunities
- financial literacy skills
Ohio
United Way also supports the community impact of the EITC initiative
through advocacy efforts for the passage of a comparable State of Ohio
tax benefit program and consideration for other federal legislative
enhancements that would reflect the changing demographics and economic
challenges of America’s workforce.
|
|
United Way Requests:
- Legislation supporting the establishment of a state
earned income tax credit.
- Legislation supporting expansion of the Federal EITC
to allow an additional deduction for a third child.
- Legislation
promoting the use of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites for
low-income tax-filers to receive tax preparation services free of
charge.
|
|
Thanks to You:
Lend Your Voice
Share Your Strength
Get Help