Tax break may grow for working poor, By Peter Wong, February 14, 2010, Salem Statesman Journal: “An expansion of a tax break for poor working families won support from Portland to Medford – and Woodburn. The expanded break, in the form of an earned-income tax credit, no longer would benefit Ian Finch of Portland or state Rep. Betty Komp of Woodburn. But both qualified for the federal credit, which is subtracted directly from taxes owed – and they said an expanded state credit would help thousands of families. Finch used the credit while, as a single father of five children, he was working and going to school – even though he said he could have drawn more from welfare payments. ‘Increasing the state earned-income tax credit will help other families who work really hard to break the cycle of poverty,’ Finch told the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee last week. ‘This is also an opportunity for the state of Oregon to send the message to these hard-working families that they are valued and that the state recognizes all their hard work…'”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty