COVID-19 and Collaboration: How Maryland Expanded its EITC
Author:
Dora Kreitzer ’25Co-Authors:
Faculty Mentor(s):
Daniel Alvord, Anthropology and SociologyFunding Source:
Bucknell Institute for Public PolicyAbstract
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the most important anti-poverty programs. Yet, eligibility for the federal EITC is dependent upon filing taxes with a Social Security Number. This means that people who file taxes with an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), a group which largely consists of noncitizens, are ineligible for this benefit. However, several states have recently extended eligibility for state EITC benefits to ITIN filers. Drawing upon exploratory research in Maryland, which expanded EITC eligibility to ITIN filers in 2021 through passage of SB0218, I set out to understand the process, intentions, and effects of extension of state welfare programs to noncitizens. For this research, I conducted eight semi-structured interviews with policymakers and members of advocacy organizations that were involved in the expansion of the EITC. Based on this research, I argue that the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and collaboration between invested individuals and groups both heightened and highlighted the need for ITIN filers to be included in the Maryland EITC. The context of the pandemic created a necessary sense of urgency for politicians to get a bill passed. However, what ultimately caused the bill’s success was the strategic collaborations between policymakers, advocacy organizations, and different caucuses which took advantage of the pandemic context. The information learned here can help in future studies looking at the policy processes in other states and understanding if it is replicable in states that have not yet expanded EITC eligibility to ITIN filers.