Increasing New Jersey’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) could boost the incomes of nearly 600,000 working families in the state who aren’t paid enough to get by, New Jersey Policy Perspective policy analyst Brandon McKoy told WMBC-TV in a segment that aired this weekend.
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto has spearheaded efforts to increase the EITC to 40 percent of the federal credit, which would boost the annual take-home pay for the state’s lowest earners by as much as $600, enough to cover most of one month’s rent for some families. The average New Jersey recipient of this credit would get about $225 more each year.
“These are families that are working, but not being paid enough for the work they’re doing,” McKoy said. “They’re struggling [with] getting by day to day. It’s the mom who is trying to figure out, ‘How am I going to pay for the weekly groceries?’”
