Want to reduce poverty? Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.

In Maine, more than 103,000 families received the federal EITC in 2017 with an average refund of $2,158. Another 20,000, by IRS estimates, are eligible for the credit but did not file taxes, so they did not receive it. A partnership between the Maine Center for Economic Policy, Good Shepherd Food Bank, Cash Maine and New Ventures Maine distributed 35,000 postcards to make Mainers aware of the credit.

There are efforts at the state and federal level to expand the EITC, and to expand awareness of the valuable credit.

Click here to read the full story, first published April 19, 2o19, in the Bangor Daily News.