Amidst Disastrous Pandemic, CASA Celebrates Passage of Maryland Immigrant Inclusive Tax Credit Relief through General Assembly, Calls on Governor to Sign Bill

26 February 2021, Annapolis, Maryland – CASA’s policy analyst Cathryn Ann Paul issued the following statement in response to today’s House vote to reform the Earned Income Tax Credit to include immigrant taxpayers.

“This is a victory for Maryland’s immigrant families, who have been serving, cleaning, and working for others selflessly throughout the pandemic. Immigrant taxpayers paid over $100 million in state and local taxes last year. This relief is not only earned, but it is also desperately needed. This strong workforce has been shaken because of COVID-19. As this bill heads to Governor Hogan’s desk, he must sign it immediately. Likewise, Congress should pass immigrant inclusive relief at the federal level, so that these benefits will help families across the country.”

Legislators passed this bill for taxpayers and CASA members like Lashana, a Maryland taxpayer originally from Jamaica. Lashana lives in White Oak, Montgomery County. She came to the US in 2015, and has paid taxes in Maryland since 2016. She cleans houses and used to rent an apartment where she lived with her 4-year-old son, a US citizen. However, because of COVID she lost all her clients and had to move in a shared space with another family. Now they are at risk of losing that apartment too because they haven’t been able to pay rent there for the last several months. Lashana files her taxes every year with an ITIN number.

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