Poll shows support for working parents tax credit in Michigan

BY KYLE DAVIDSON, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Michigan Future Inc., a nonpartisan organization seeking to catalyze economic prosperity in the state, held a press conference Monday to discuss a new poll in support of a tax credit that would put money back in the pockets of working parents.

Lou Glazer, the organization’s president said if all goes according to plan, lawmakers in the state House and Senate will introduce legislation this week to provide working parents with a $5,000 per child fully-refundable tax credit for children between the ages of zero and three, and $2,500 fully-refundable credit per child for children between the ages of three and six. Like the earned income tax credit, this program would also be limited to three children per household, Glazer said.

In order to qualify for these tax credits, parents must be a recipient of the federal earned income tax credit, and must have $10,000 in household work earnings, Glazer said, noting that the credit would act as both an incentive for people to work, as well as a reward for workers.

According to polling from Impact Research, a bipartisan majority of 69% of voters support a Working Parents Tax Credit, even after hearing about the proposal’s $1 billion cost. Polling found that 88% of Democrats, 68% of independents and 53% of Republicans supported the program.

When voters learned more about the policy, support also grew to 76% of voters polled, with 18% in opposition.

While the proposal was popular among groups of voters who could stand to benefit from the tax credit, it also drew support from 69% of voters who did not have children.

Additionally 63% of voters said they felt reducing taxes for working parents so they could keep more of what they earn and have more income to pay their bills was preferred to increasing funding to programs intended to help working parents with expenses like childcare and housing.

“While government programs are critical today, we are only helping 30,000 children through the current child subsidy. This proposal is the only way to get to scale, suddenly being able to help 250,000 children in one year alone,” said Angelique Power, a member of Michigan Future Inc.’s board of directors.

READ MORE: How much are you saving under Michigan Dems’ new tax cuts?

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.