Despite flaws, Latino workers and families will benefit from the tax agreement

There’s been a lot of noise about the agreement between President Obama and congressional leaders on taxes this week, but one untold story is that there is a lot of good in it for low-income Latino workers.  On the heels of the worst month of unemployment for Latinos since August 1983, the agreement will create jobs and represents the best opportunity for Congress to steady the economy and reduce the threat of a new round of large-scale layoffs next year.  During the negotiations, the White House secured additional unemployment benefits and expanded tax credits for low-income workers that seemed nearly impossible only weeks ago.  Economists now estimate that the deal could create between 1.6 million and 2.2 million jobs in the next two years.  According to the Center for American Progress, 740,000 of those jobs will result from the extension of unemployment insurance benefits and critical tax credits for low-income families, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit.  Under this agreement, more than two million Latino families would benefit from the EITC in 2011.  A low-income Latino family with two parents and two children could see up to a $5,000 refund on their tax forms next year.  Families with three or more children would receive an additional boost of up to $600.  Latino children also win.  As part of the agreement, an expanded Child Tax Credit would benefit 6.1 million Latino children in 2011, potentially slowing the rise in Latino child poverty.

It is true that the agreement includes costly tax benefits for the wealthiest Americans, but support for a more balanced deal did not exist in the Senate despite the noble efforts of lawmakers.  Moreover, producing no agreement on taxes now would have meant risking greater losses of tax benefits for low-income workers, as well as the potential for substantially greater joblessness among Latinos next year.  The direct and immediate benefits to low-income Latinos outweigh our concerns.  Yet our mounting national debt remains a serious issue.  Providing more tax benefits to those least in need is an unnecessary waste of money that the government does not have.  However, in the upcoming debate over how we deal with our national debt, tax benefits for the wealthy will be on the table again.  If more Latinos are employed and the economy is stronger than it is today, we stand a better chance of achieving fairness in that critically important debate, when so much more will be at stake.

Janet Murguía is president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).