One Brooklyn
July 20, 2020
Brooklyn, NY – Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams amplified a new proposal to put more money into the pockets of frontline workers as New York City continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Called the “COVID-19 Heroes’ Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Supplement,” the proposal calls for providing a tax credit supplement to frontline workers in health care, law enforcement, as well as fire and emergency services who earn up to $100,000 a year, in addition to families earning up to $150,000 a year. The credit would be valued at 30 percent of the Federal EITC and would be provided on a one-time basis for the following tax year. Based on the most recently available New York State Department of Labor (DOL) figures on workers in these occupations with average wages under $100,000, it is estimated at least 400,000 New Yorkers would be eligible.
The proposal is part of a series of recommendations laid out in his “Real Recovery NYC” report released earlier this month. The report lays out a roadmap for helping the city recover from the intersecting crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing economic fallout, and the racial injustices laid bare by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the nationwide protests that followed. In the report, Borough President Adams notes that historic inequities in the city must be addressed in the recovery to ensure that a future crisis does not have such disparate impacts.
“Amid a devastating pandemic that claimed the lives of over 22,000 New Yorkers and decimated our economy, our frontline workers risked their health, and the health of their loved ones, to keep our city running. Unfortunately, some lost their lives while trying to save those of their fellow New Yorkers. Symbolic gestures won’t be enough to express gratitude to these workers for their heroic efforts during this crisis. We need real, tangible policies to show we recognize the depth of their sacrifice. The COVID-19 Heroes’ Earned Income Tax Credit Supplement would deliver much-needed relief to frontline workers at minimal cost. I urge the City and State to adopt this innovative proposal so that we can begin the process of a just, equitable recovery,” said Borough President Adams.
According to a recent report by the New York City Comptroller’s office, 75 percent of all frontline workers in New York City are people of color. The same report found that 24 percent live at or below twice the poverty line, which is at or less than $52,400 for a family of four. A survey by the Federal Reserve also found widespread financial insecurity, which has been deepened by the current crisis among those at the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, concluding that four in 10 Americans do not have enough money to cover an emergency expense of $400 or greater. Borough President Adams estimates that the supplement would provide more than $500 in average return to recipients who qualify, exceeding this amount and providing a much-needed stimulus to New York’s battered economy.
New York City is one of a few cities around the country that provides its own EITC supplement to eligible residents. The supplement is currently valued at five percent of the Federal return. A robust body of evidence supports the efficacy of the EITC, which has beneficial effects for public health, educational achievement, economic mobility, and more.
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