CLASP submitted a comment opposing the United States Department of Treasury’s proposed rule change to reinterpret certain refundable tax credits as “federal public benefits” under the 1996 Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The proposed rule change would restrict access to the refundable portions of the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Adoption Tax Credit for those who do not meet the qualified immigrant definition under the PRWORA law. To claim these refundable tax credits, all tax filers would need to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are a United States citizen, U.S. national, or a qualified immigrant under the PRWORA definition.

This proposed rule would threaten immigrant families’ financial well-being by revoking critical tax credits that lift millions of families out of poverty each year. It would create administrative complexity for all tax filers by mandating tax filers to attest they are a “qualified” immigrant under PRWORA under penalty of perjury. Finally, the change would cause administrative confusion for states that provide state tax credits tied to federal credit eligibility rules.

>>Read full comment here.