RELIEF Act Moving NOW in Annapolis with Immigrants Ineligible

10 February 2021, Annapolis, MD – CASA Research and Policy Analyst Cathryn Ann Paul issued the following urgent statement ahead of House floor vote on the RELIEF Act, a bill that would provide a Maryland stimulus payment to Maryland taxpayers who received the earned income tax credit (EITC).

“We are gravely concerned that the Senate and House Ways & Means Committee have failed to include all taxpaying Marylanders in the state’s COVID relief bill. Immigrants, enormously impacted by COVID, are ineligible for unemployment, medicaid, and federal relief.  Maryland is on the cusp of repeating the inhumane treatment of needy families. As the bill moves to the House floor, Democratic leadership must step away from Trump-era policies and step up for the immigrant community.”

Last year, more than 86K Maryland taxpayers with Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITINs) filed state returns, paying more than $100 million in state and local taxes. Despite this, undocumented taxpayers did not receive the first round of federal stimulus relief and were severely excluded from the second round. With little to no relief, CASA members have expressed their disappointment in the General Assembly.

60+ organizations have signed on in support of an amendment to the RELIEF Act that would expand the Maryland stimulus payment to all Maryland taxpayers who fall under the earned income tax credit (EITC) income threshold.

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#MDGA21