Cory 2020
For Immediate Release:

April 15, 2019

JUSTICE FOR ALL TOUR: Day 1 -- In Iowa on Tax Day, Booker to Tout Transformative Tax Credit for American Families

Rise Credit would lift nearly 15 million people out of poverty, slashing poverty by one-third

Would help 154 million pay for rising cost of living, including rent, child care, and prescription drugs

Newark, NJ –  After a successful Hometown Kickoff in Newark on Saturday where he argued that Americans can’t wait for justice, Cory Booker will travel to Iowa today to unveil one plank of his plan to ensure economic justice in our country — a bold new tax cut aimed at putting more money in the pockets of American families.

 April 15 is Tax Day, the deadline for Americans to file their 2018 federal income tax returns.

At a Conversation with Cory event in Sioux City -- followed tomorrow by events in Carroll, Nevada, and Des Moines -- Cory will propose the Rise Credit, the most dramatic expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in history.

“So many Americans find themselves with more month at the end of their money than money at the end of their month,” said Cory Booker. “Families’ earnings are not keeping up with the cost of living, and many people are living paycheck to paycheck with little to nothing left over to save.

“But instead of helping hard-working Americans who are struggling to get by, our tax code concentrates benefits to those at the very top. It’s unconscionable that hedge fund managers can pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than their secretaries. That’s wrong and must change. Creating a fairer, more just tax code begins with putting money in the pockets of Americans who are struggling to get ahead.”

Under the Rise Credit, Cory proposes:

  • Nearly doubling the income eligibility at which people can receive the Earned Income Tax Credit, from a maximum of just over $54,000 to $90,000 for a married couple -- scaling up the credit so it benefits more working and middle class families.
 
  • Increasing the maximum EITC credit amount by 25 percent -- to about $8,000 per year for a married couple, or more than more than $650 per month -- and making more families eligible for the biggest credit. Qualifying workers without children at home would receive the maximum individual credit of $4,000--nearly eight times what they get from the credit today.
 
  • Expanding eligibility for the EITC beyond “traditional” work to include low-income students and family caregivers -- because traditional wage earners aren’t the only Americans who are working hard to support their families and find new avenues of opportunity.
 
  • Broadening the age qualifications for the EITC to make all working Americans age 18 and older eligible for the credit.
 
  • Making the credit user-friendly and accessible through simplified, automatic filings will ensure everyone who earns the credit receives this help, and creating an option for more frequent payments throughout the year to help low-income people deal with their rising cost of living.
Combined with expansion of apprenticeship programs, job training, and capital investment in underserved and vulnerable communities that help create new opportunities for Americans looking for work, the impact of these changes would be immense for American families. 

The Tax Policy Center estimates that an expanded EITC like this would benefit about 154 million people -- nearly half of all Americans.

All told, this plan would lift nearly 15 million people out of poverty, cutting poverty in our country by 1/3rd. It would also boost the whole economy, building prosperity for all Americans. 

Cory would help fund the Rise Credit by ending the preferential tax treatment of capital gains investment income that overwhelmingly favors the wealthiest Americans, because income from selling stocks and other investments should be taxed the same as income from work.
 
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Cory 2020
For Immediate Release:
April 16, 2019

ICYMI: Cory Booker Announces Rise Credit on Tax Day in Iowa

The Rise Credit would be the most dramatic expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit in history

Newark, NJ – On the first day of the “Justice for All Tour,” Cory Booker traveled to Iowa and unveiled the Rise Credit, which would be the most dramatic expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in history. The Rise Credit would expand and modernize the EITC with a larger maximum credit and would cover more working and middle class households, including caregivers and low-income students. All together, the Rise Credit would benefit about 154 million people -- nearly half of all Americans -- would lift nearly 15 million people out of poverty, and would also boost the whole economy, building prosperity for all Americans.

Below are some highlights on the Rise Credit:

Associated Press: Cory Booker Talks New Tax Credit Plan During Iowa Visit
"Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker on Monday proposed a significant expansion of the earned income tax credit that he said would lower the annual tax bill for almost half of American taxpayers. The senator from New Jersey, who recently launched a national tour aimed at boosting his 2020 presidential bid, touted the plan during a campaign event in Iowa as creating a tax code 'that reflects our values.'"

The Hill: Booker Proposes Broad Expansion Of Middle-Class Tax Credit
"Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, on Monday proposed a broad expansion of the earned income tax credit (EITC), which benefits low- and middle-income workers. Under his proposal, which is dubbed the "Rise Credit" and was unveiled on Tax Day, the income eligibility for the EITC would rise from about $54,000 to $90,000 for married couples, Booker's campaign said in a statement."

NBC News: Cory Booker Unveils Plan To Cut Taxes For Half The Country
"Fresh off launching a national campaign tour over the weekend, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., unveiled a new proposal on Monday to cut taxes for over 150 million Americans. The Rise Credit, as the campaign has dubbed it, would expand on the existing Earned Income Tax Credit, which supplements wages for lower-income workers."

Axios: Cory Booker Proposes Dramatic Expansion To Earned Income Tax Credit 
"While campaigning in Iowa today, 2020 candidate Sen. Cory Booker unveiled a new policy called the "Rise Credit" that aims to expand eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to more working and middle-class families. Why it matters: Expanding the EITC is an example of some of the niche policy ideas that are becoming mainstream among 2020 Democrats. It's often referred to as a "cost-of-living refund" by activist groups."

Fox News: Booker Pushes Plan To Cut Taxes For Workers By Hiking Capital Gains Tax 
"On the day that Americans faced the annual deadline to file their tax returns, presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker unveiled a plan that he said would cut taxes for some 150 million people. The New Jersey Democrat on Monday proposed what he's called the Rise Credit, which would nearly double the number of people eligible to receive the benefits of the existing Earned Income Tax Credit."

The Sioux City Journal: Cory Booker Unveils Tax Credit Plan In First Sioux City Campaign Stop
"It was deadline day for Americans to file their federal income tax returns, and Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker used a Monday campaign stop to unveil his proposal to considerably expand the Earned Income Tax Credit that low-income people can receive. Booker, in his first Sioux City campaign event of the 2020 election cycle, aired details of the new policy he said dubbed the Rise Credit. He said to boost "economic justice," expanding the EITC would result in more money going to the personal budgets of Americans, so they could move away from living paycheck to paycheck."

ABC News: 2020 Democrats Highlight Income Inequality With Ambitious Tax Proposals
"Fresh off his “Justice for All” campaign tour launch in his hometown of Newark over the weekend, Sen. Cory Booker unveiled a new proposal in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa aimed at cutting taxes for millions of working-class Americans. “Instead of helping hard-working Americans who are struggling to get by, our tax code concentrates benefits to those at the very top,” Booker said in the campaign’s release Monday, which also is April’s tax-filing deadline." 
 
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