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Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
jrendeiro@nclr.org
(202) 776-1566
Washington, D.C.—Heading into the 2012 legislative session, lawmakers are proposing to raise taxes on hardworking, low-income Latino families to pay for an extension of the payroll tax cut. Rather than asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes, legislators are proposing cutting off access to the Child Tax Credit for taxpayers who use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN). NCLR (National Council of La Raza) estimates that more than four million Latino children and their families could lose out on this valuable tax credit if current proposals pass, pushing them further into poverty.
“We are outraged that this proposal is even on the table,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “Latino voters are paying close attention to how policymakers treat our community. Given that one out of every four Latino children would face greater hunger and poverty as a result of this proposal, it is hard to see it as anything less than an attack on our children. Congress should pass a fair tax package that maintains access to the Child Tax Credit for vulnerable families.”
ITINs are commonly used by immigrants who lack a Social Security number so that they can pay their share of income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. In 2012, ITIN tax filers paid more than $9 billion in payroll taxes to support Social Security and Medicare.
Murguía was joined on a call earlier today by Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, as well as representatives from National Immigration Law Center (NILC), First Focus, and CASA de Maryland, who echoed opposition to restrictions to the Child Tax Credit.
“The House proposal is a direct attack on our nation’s children,” said Wendy Cervantes, Vice President of Immigration and Child Rights at First Focus. “Any restriction on the Child Tax Credit would make it more difficult for hardworking parents to provide for their children’s basic needs and threaten to drive child poverty even higher.”
Families affected by this policy change typically earn an average of $21,000 per year. If the law changes, those families would experience an 8 percent increase in taxes, amounting to a loss in income of about $1,800.
“At a time of economic uncertainty for working families, the president and Congress have an opportunity to prove that they are committed to fairness and equity by rejecting proposals limiting low-income immigrant taxpayers’ eligibility for the Child Tax Credit,” added Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of NILC.
Looking at the effects that changing the law could have on the 2012 election, Clarissa Martínez-de-Castro, Director of Immigration and National Campaigns at NCLR, also pointed out that these proposals have received an overwhelmingly negative response from Latino voters.
“During an election year, when the Latino voting bloc is being courted by both parties, hitting Latinos where it hurts the most—their wallets—doesn’t appear to be a particularly sound strategy for winning over this community,” said Martínez-de-Castro.
In fact, Archbishop Wenski doubted whether any American would back these changes knowing who would be affected.
“Most Americans would not support a tax break knowing it is at the expense of poor children,” said the Archbishop. “Our federal officials should look at other ways to extend this provision.”
To learn more about the Child Tax Credit and how policy changes could impact the Latino community, please refer to the NCLR fact sheet.
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