MomsRising, together with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, organized the following sign-on letter for gender justice organizations in support of the Working Families Tax Credit. You can take action in support of the Working Families Tax Credit by sending your state lawmakers a quick note of support here. 

Honorable Members of the Washington State Legislature:

We, the undersigned, write to urge you to champion the Working Families Tax Credit in the final 2019-21 budget package. As organizations advocating for gender and racial justice across Washington State, we stand in strong support of this critical economic security policy.

The Working Families Tax Credit, modeled after the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), would provide a new tax credit for low- and moderate-income working families in Washington. As proposed, the program would increase workers’ EITC by 20% and be administered by the Employment Security Department. This proposed tax credit is a bold and important step to make the Washington State tax code, the worst in the nation, more fair for working families struggling to make ends meet across our state

Funding the Working Families Tax Credit is a matter of gender and racial justice. As a result of our history of systemic racism and sexism, people of color, women, and gender nonconforming people often have to work harder to make ends meet in low-wage jobs. As a result, these workers are the most likely to face precarious economic situations. At a time when there is such great prosperity in our state, no Washingtonian, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, should struggle to provide the basic necessities of a decent life to their family. By increasing tax fairness for all low-income Washingtonians, the Working Families Tax Credit helps to close the gaps in economic security and opportunity that hit people of color, women, and gender nonconforming people the hardest. The Washington State Legislature has the opportunity to increase the racial and gender justice impacts of this policy by expanding eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit to include low-income family caregivers, immigrants, childless young adults, and college students.

In addition, this policy increases public safety by supporting women and other survivors of domestic and sexual violence and fighting the conditions that enable abuse. One of the main reasons people stay with or return to an abusive partner is that they lack the money to support themselves or their children. Research shows that economic insecurity increases the risk of violence for women and families, and that poverty-reduction policies like tax credits work to decrease vulnerability. Funding the Working Families Tax Credit would increase survivor safety and help reduce the conditions that enable violence in our state.

The Working Families Tax Credit will lift women, gender nonconforming people, people of color, and low-income families across Washington. We urge you to stand with organizations advocating for gender and racial justice across our state and pledge to fight for a fully-funded Working Families Tax Credit in the 2019 legislative session. 

Signed,

Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse (Pullman)

Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence (Seattle)

Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County

Forks Abuse Program

InterIm CDA (Seattle)

Legal Voice

LifeWire (Bellevue)

MomsRising

Multi-Communities (Seattle)

NARAL Pro-Choice Washington

New Beginnings (Seattle)

Our Sisters' House (Tacoma)

Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii

Raiz of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho

SAFE San Juans (Eastsound)

SEIU 775

Somali Family Task Force (Seattle)

The Human Response Network (Chehalis)

UFCW 21

Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs

Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Washington Work and Family Coalition

YWCA Pierce County

YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish

YWCA Yakima