Gov. Schwarzenegger Encourages Eligible Working Class Families

Gov. Schwarzenegger Encourages Eligible Working Class Families to Take Advantage of Federal Earned Income Tax Credit

Gov. Schwarzenegger called on California families who make less than $37,263 to check whether they qualified for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) - worth up to $4,400 in tax refunds - after touring a Legal Aid office in East Los Angeles.

"The Earned Income Tax Credit is so important because it can ease the tax burden by thousands of dollars for California's working families, but not everyone who is eligible is taking advantage of it," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. "Hard working Californians are missing out on nearly $1 billion in tax refunds. That's why Maria and I are very focused on making everyone aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit and other ways to put money back into the pockets of hard-working Californians."

First Lady Maria Shriver has also held a series of events in Southern California and the Central Valley to raise awareness for the program. More than 750,000 Californians miss out on almost $1 billion in EITC payments.

The EITC can be claimed by people who earn up to $37,263, with an average credit of $1,700. Twenty-two million Americans received $39 billion in EITC refunds last year. EITC is designed to make work more beneficial for families that work hard but struggle to get ahead.

EITC ELIGIBILITY:

To receive the EITC an individual must:

Have earned income in 2005.
Be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
Have a valid social security number.
The list below lists maximum income limits for EITC eligibility.

25-64 Years Old with No Children Living at Home: single, $11,750; married, $13,750
One Child Living At Home: single, $31,030; married, $33,030
Two or More Children Living At Home: single, $35,263; married, $37,263
Since taking office, Gov. Schwarzenegger has cut taxes and fought for working-class Californians and resisted every effort to raise taxes, including:

Repealing the Car Tax: Within the first hour of taking the oath of office, the Governor reversed the car tax increase and returned $4 billion to Californians.

Protecting Prop. 13: Gov. Schwarzenegger has fought every effort to raise taxes including efforts to gut California's landmark Proposition 13 which protects homeowners from losing their homes to skyrocketing property taxes.

Opposing Efforts to Make Tax Increases Easier: The Governor opposed Proposition 56, an effort to make it easier for the legislature to raise taxes.

Job Creation: Gov. Schwarzenegger has made job creation a priority for his administration. Prior to the Governor taking office, California's employment slipped by over 360,000 from January 2001 to July 2003 despite adding almost a million residents. California's unemployment rate grew by almost 50 percent over this period. Since the Governor took office in Nov. 2003, California has added 577,000 jobs and the unemployment rate has dropped from 6.8 percent to 5 percent, or by 1.8 percent. In comparison, nationwide, the unemployment rate has fallen just 1.3 percent.

Source: Office of the Governor

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