A debate over whether to expand an anti-poverty tax measure to immigrants is breaking down along party lines in the Maryland General Assembly, with Republicans vehemently opposing the move. The bill cleared an initial vote in the Senate Wednesday, with just one Democrat voting with the Republicans.
At the heart of the fight is the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or ITIN. Immigrants, both with and without legal residency in the United States, use the numbers to file their annual tax returns because they cannot get the Social Security numbers issued to U.S. citizens.
ITIN users do not qualify for federal tax credits, including the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
The bill that got initial approval in the Senate Wednesday would allow ITIN users to get the Maryland Earned Income Tax Credit for three years — tax years 2020, 2021 and 2022.
“These are Maryland taxpayers who pay into our system,” Senate President Bill Ferguson told reporters on Friday. “We have credits for residents and this will treat them equally for the next three years.”
To qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, Maryland taxpayers who are married and have at least three children must earn no more than $56,844 in a year. Individuals and taxpayers with fewer or no children have lower income caps. The new bill does not change these requirements.
Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit is especially significant now because of the COVID-19 relief bill that the legislature passed nearly unanimously on Friday and Gov. Larry Hogan signed on Monday. That law increases the amount of the credit for the same three years that the new bill would be in effect.
