EITC

Lists total number of tax returns, EITC recipients, EITC amount, average EITC amount and share of returns coming from the EITC.

New report shows what it takes to move Colorado to the middle of the pack; Conversation 2007 seeks input on P-20; Reports for 208 panel detail health spending and uninsured; CBO: Financing health care spending with income tax will be costly; Payday lending in Colorado nearly triples since 2000; More states expand Earned Income Tax Credit; Poll: Income gap is too large; Jones named to state Pay Equity Commission; Political Journal: Civic engagement a full-time job in 2007

Ballot measures brewing for 2008; Anti-affirmative action measure proposed; Gov. Ritter names P-20 Council; U.S. needs more educated workers; Insurance rate regs protect small business workers; Health system performance is bi-polar; States strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit; Fewer retirees receive employer health benefits; New York Times focuses on wealth, poverty and inequality; Bell website offers RSS feed; Gurul?? is new communications director; New public policy fellows join the Bell.

The Colorado Legislature and Gov. Bill Ritter worked together this year to pass dozens of bills that improve the state of opportunity for thousands of Coloradans, says Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell Policy Center. "The 2007 session will be remembered as a strong push for opportunity," Buchanan said. "Legislators worked hard to pass bills that prepare our kids to compete in the global economy and help families join and stay in the middle class."

For six years Colorado has not issued an earned income tax credit, or EITC, to those who meet the federal threshold for the credit. The state ties its EITC to a TABOR revenue surplus, so when times are tough for the state, working families also feel the squeeze. Now that the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights is on hold and Referendum C is in play, tax credits are not being given because doing so would reduce the revenue base on which future budgets will be derived.

A transcript of the Bell's "Voices of Opportunity" event of March 13, 2007, featuring the Honorable Bill Ritter Jr., Governor of Colorado, including a question-and-answer session and comments by Bell Chairman Penfield Tate III and Bell President Wade Buchanan.

Articles: Bell recommends opportunity agenda for JBC spending decisions, Revenue projections show continued growth, States??? Earned Income Tax Credits give low-income families tax relief, Texas comptroller: Undocumented immigrants a net benefit to the state, Northern Colorado job growth to increase in 2007, Ritter names Marcy Morrison new state insurance commissioner

Articles: 2005 CSAP results, New Bell reports: Understanding Colorado's Achievement Gap 2005 Education White Papers, Bell tracks six interim committees, Immunization rates rebound, Number of uninsured kids falls, Latinos receive less student financial aid, Business group supports better access to higher education, Increased cost sharing pushes people off Medicaid, EITC boosts employment, Housing costs rise faster than wages, Latinos lack sufficient retirement savings

Articles: Legislature considers full plate of opportunity-related education bills; Free school breakfasts help hungry kids start the day fed and ready to learn; Eligible citizens denied services due to new identification requirements; Earned Income Tax Credit payouts stimulate local economies; www.thebell.org gets a functional overhaul

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides a needed tax break to military as well as civilian families.