Public Assets’ statement on H. 471

There has been a lot of attention on the veto session this week and all that was accomplished this year—universal school meals, improved but imperfect investments in housing, and of course the signature accomplishment: the biggest investment in childcare in the country. But a less-noticed, otherwise unremarkable tax bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Phil Scott contained two important provisions also worth celebrating.

H.471, amid all of its technical changes, makes the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the new state Child Tax Credit (CTC) available to all qualifying Vermont residents regardless of whether they have a Social Security card or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). In addition to safeguards already in place protecting filers’ information, H.471 goes further to protect immigration status and identity for people filing for the EITC and CTC. The new law also will authorize the state to disburse individual Child Tax Credit payments over the course of a year when, and if, the federal government allows.

These provisions, which had the support of both the Legislature and the administration, are good news for Vermont families. Formally assuring all Vermonters without tax identification numbers that they are eligible for both the EITC and CTC and that their personal information will not be shared is a big step in including many taxpayers who are often excluded from benefits because of their immigration status. Allowing credits to be paid periodically during the year, as was done with the federal tax credits during Covid, will provide families with regular predictable income rather than a lump sum once a year. Now Vermont just has to make sure that eligible families are aware of these changes and can feel confident that their information will be protected.