The Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) recently urged people to petition legislators for additional Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) funding

The MCC suggested in a recent Facebook post that the extra funds from the 2021 and 2022 budgets, which are now under consideration by legislators, should be distributed to low-income, working-class families.

 "Thanks to your efforts, more than 400 messages have been sent to Gov. Whitmer and state lawmakers urging them to deliver tax relief to working families," the MCC stated in a separate Facebook post.

A Michigan Department of Treasury press release said individuals with low to moderate incomes may qualify for the state's EITC, which reduces the amount of owed taxes and potentially could provide a refund.

“The Earned Income Tax Credit is a very important tax credit that all eligible Michiganders should seek out,” State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said in the release. “The extra income this tax credit provides can be really helpful to working, low- to moderate-income families. Please don’t hesitate to seek out assistance so you can claim it on both your federal and state individual income tax returns.”

Approximately 738,400 claimants earned EITC benefits in Michigan during the 2019 tax year, totaling roughly $110.6 million.

However, the state Department of Treasury eports that "thousands" of eligible citizens still do not apply for the EITC.