Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Earned Income Credit Notification Bill Moves to House Floor
The House Ways & Means Committee approved legislation that would require Maryland employers to annually notify employees who may be eligible for the earned income credit. The vote was 15-5. The Maryland Chamber opposes the legislation.
The bill, HB 755, would require the Comptroller to annually publish the maximum income eligibility for the state’s earned income credit and a notice to employees regarding the federal and state credits. Employers would be required to identify employees who may be eligible for the credit and provide them with a copy of the comptroller’s notice.
The Maryland Chamber opposes the bill because it is the responsibility of the state, not employers, to identify individuals potentially eligible for the earned income credit. In order for an employer to know if an employee may be eligible for the credit, the employer would need to know information about qualifying factors, including:
- Adjusted gross income for the family.
- The employee’s income tax filing status.
- The number of the employee’s “qualified” children.
“An employer attempting to comply with this bill would have to make a choice,” Ron Wineholt, one of the Chamber’s lobbyists said. “Do they provide copies of the notice to every employee in the company, or do they identify and notify only those employees below certain wage levels who may qualify for the credit? Either option is a bad choice for the employer due to the time, costs and privacy issues involved.”
For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
I do not believe that this bill would be in the best interest of anyone involved. First of all, as an employer, when you hire someone you are not allowed to ask questions such as how many children do you have or even do you have children? When does it become “legal ” for us to ask these private questions? Secondly, I own and operate an income tax business. I am an enrolled agent and I can attest to the fact that one of the hardest parts of our jobs is to determine whether a child is a “qualifying child” for earned income credit. Every year for the past 5 years the IRS has changed the wording of the rules for “qualifing child” and we as professionals have to train all over again. Luckily we have software to help us with qualifying questions to guide us to the proper decisions. God forbid if all employers had to make these decisions. So then we are down to giving the information out to all employees. Then you are bound to have people apply for EIC who do not qualify for it and will end up owing money out the yazoo at the end of the year. I have seen that happen also. So no, this is not a good ides. Those people who truly qualify for it already know about it. Believe me. I know.