releases: http://sablan.house.gov/kilili-proposes-federally-funded-earned-income-tax-credit-program-nmi
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://sablan.house.gov/kilili-proposes-federally-funded-earned-income-tax-credit-program-nmi | Kilili proposes federally funded Earned Income Tax Credit program for NMI | 2015-12-22 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Independent | Senate | MP | Gregorio Sablan | S001177 | sablan.house.gov | legacy | Marianas Variety- U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan has introduced a measure that will provide federal funds for the CNMI Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC program. Sablans H.R. 4309 will allow taxpayers in the Northern Marianas to receive a refundable tax credit if they have earned income in a given year. The earned income tax credit is an important public policy because it rewards people for working, Sablan said in a media statement. Even if people have to work for low wages, which many people do in the Northern Marianas, it will still be worthwhile to get a job because there will be this extra supplemental income from the government, Sablan said. Acting Gov. Ralph Torres on Tuesday praised Sablan for introducing the bill. I commend and appreciate Congressman Sablans efforts to extend a federal cover-over for the cost the CNMI would pay for the Earned Income Tax Credit. This is an important incentive for low-income residents. The EITC program is supposed to work in tandem with [other] programsto be a safety net for low-income families while supporting self-sufficiency through gainful employment, but the [EITC] has been unavailable in the CNMI. He added, This is an issue we have brought up during the formation of the Governors Special Commission on Economic Opportunity. In order to build a stronger society we need all the resources we have at our disposal to encourage greater workforce participation rates among our people and provide them the tools they need to succeed. I thank Congressman Sablan for his efforts on this issue and will follow the progress of this legislation closely. Sablan said the commonwealth tried to provide the EITC to its people in the 1990s but had to discontinue the program because it was too expensive for the CNMI government. Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have an EITC program in place and pay for it using local funds. Sablans bill would cover the cost with federal funds. This would work in the same way that families in the Northern Marianas are now getting the refundable child tax credit each year, he said. Taxpayers would file their return with the commonwealth government then the federal government would provide the money to cover the cost of the earned income tax credit. The commonwealth would make the payments to individual taxpayers. Sablan said he modeled his legislation after two provisions in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which made federal funds available to the commonwealth government to cover the cost of the Making Work Pay tax credit and the American Opportunity tax credit for families with children in college. One of the big wins in the tax extenders that was passed on Friday and signed by President Obama was making the American Opportunity tax credit permanent. The credit had been scheduled to phase out in 2017, but now families will continue to be able to claim a $2,500 tax credit each year for each of their eligible college students. That is worth $10,000 over the course of a four year undergraduate program. Sablan said changes in the federal tax code can be difficult to achieve and H.R. 4309 could be costly, but he believes it is important to put the idea on the table for consideration. In the event that we take up comprehensive tax reform legislation in the next several years, or some other legislative opportunity presents itself, I want to be ready, he said. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |