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81 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 RESOLUTION NO. ___ _ A Resolution supporting the extension of key provisions of the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit and the Refundable Child Tax Credit. WHEREAS, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) are among the most effective federal policies to fight poverty among working families. They promote work by single parents and they are available to very low-income families. In addition, these tax credits are directly linked to higher student test scores, higher high-school graduation rates, and higher college attendance rates; and WHEREAS, in 2013, more than 1,367 households in South Miami received the EITC or the refundable CTC and these tax credits made $2,383,786 in income available to these residents of South Miami to be spent in the local economy to pay for basic needs of the recipients, like housing, groceries, medical treatment, and transportation; and WHEREAS, in 2013, more than 522,700 households in Florida's Miami-Dade County received the EITC or the refundable CTC, representing nearly half (46.4%) of all tax returns filed by residents of Miami-Dade County; and WHEREAS, the EITC and CTC have assisted 600,000 impoverished Floridians, including 311,000 children each year from 2011 to 2013; the EITC alone added an estimated $5.1 billion to Florida's economy in 2012; and WHEREAS, in 2009 Congress expanded the CTC to reach families earning as little as $3,000 and enabled married couples and families with more than two children to earn a slightly larger EITC. These enhancements are set to expire at the end of 2017 and if they do expire, will cause more than 16 million people nationwide, including eight million children, to fall into or deeper into poverty; and WHEREAS, four million Hispanic working families alone, with nine million children, stand to lose an average of more than $900 each if the EITC and CTC . . expansIOns expIre. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT: Section 1. . The City Commission hereby urges Representatives Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Federica Wilson (FL-24), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), and Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio to act this year to make permanent critical provisions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) before they expire. Section 2. The City Commission hereby urges the Florida Congressional delegation to rej ect harmful proposals to weaken the credits, including further restrictions on eligibility for hardworking families in our community. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Section 3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to convey this resolution to all elected officials named in Section 1. Section 4. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution. Section s. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. Passed and adopted this __ th_ day of _____ , 2015. ATTEST: READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND EXECUTION THEREOF: CITY ATTORNEY Page 2 of2 APPROVED: COMMISSION VOTE: Mayor Stoddard: Vice Mayor Harris: Commissioner Edmond: Commissioner Liebman: Commissioner Welsh: