WASHINGTON (June 25, 2008) -- Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) proposed legislation today to educate employees about the availability of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Under this proposal, employers would notify their employees that they may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. The notification would occur annually on the employee’s W-2 form.
Corporate Voices for Working Families, a nonprofit corporate membership organization in Washington, D.C., endorses this proposed legislation and views it as an extension of its ongoing work to help low-wage employees take advantage of a host of federal benefits available to them.
“Corporate Voices for Working Families has launched an aggressive campaign to assist companies in educating working families about the Earned Income Tax Credit and we welcome this legislation as an important step in educating employees about the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Donna Klein, president and CEO of Corporate Voices for Working Families, said.
For the past five years, Corporate Voices for Working Families has printed and distributed an Employer Guide: Educate Your Employees About the Benefits They’ve Earned. The guide provides detailed information about the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, SCHIP and other federal and state supports.
“Employees earn these benefits but many do not know how to take advantage of them because of the complexity of the programs and paperwork involved,” Klein, said. “The information in this reference guide helps employers inform employees and shows them how to keep more of what they earn. And by helping employees claim tax credits and federal benefits, companies build trust by making employees aware of valuable resources.”
The Employer Guide includes the following tools:
- Information on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Advance EITC, the Child Tax Credit, Medicaid/State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Food Stamps, Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) centers.
- Tips on how employers can talk to employees about tax credits and federal benefits.
- Step-by-step instructions on how to enroll employees in Advanced EITC.
- Guidelines to help employees avoid predatory tax-preparation practices.
- Corporate best practices on how to best use the Employer Guide to help employees access these programs.
- Calendar of important dates to remember when filing for these benefits.
- Facts on the “Stored Value Card,” often referred to as the pre-paid debit card.
- Paycheck stuffers – available in both English and Spanish.
- Fliers about SCHIP.
The Annie E. Casey, Ford and Hitachi Foundations fund the production of the Employer Guide: Educate Your Employees About the Benefits They’ve Earned.
The Employer Guide can be downloaded at www.cvworkingfamilies.org.
About Corporate Voices for Working Families: Corporate Voices for Working Families is the leading national business membership organization representing the private and public sectors on public policy issues involving working families. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, we improve the lives of working families by developing policies that reflect collaboration among the private sector, government and other stakeholders. To create this bipartisan support, we facilitate research in several areas that spotlight the intersecting interests of business, community and families: workforce readiness, family economic stability and flexibility in the workplace. Collectively our 50 partner companies, with annual net revenues of more than $1 trillion, employ more than 4 million individuals throughout all 50 states.
