Progressive tax credit proposals and the potential effects on poverty in New York City

One in five New Yorkers lives below the poverty line—a statistic that underscores the local interest in the poverty implications of policy proposals arising from the 2020 presidential campaign season getting underway. In recent months, Democratic contenders have put forward a variety of policy proposals that aim to reduce poverty across the country including: 

• Two renter’s credit proposals: the Rent Relief Act (RRA) and the Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity Act (HOME)

• Two Earned Income Tax Credit reforms: the Grow American Incomes Now (GAIN) and Livable Incomes for Families Today (LIFT)

• A Child Tax Credit reform: American Family Act (AFA) 

In this brief, we report on the potential anti-poverty impacts of some of the most prominent tax credit proposals on New York City. We find these proposals have the potential to reduce poverty in New York City by 10 to 38 percent and deep poverty by 10 to 27 percent.