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News Release 2014-13 | January 31, 2014

OCC Supports Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day

WASHINGTON—Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry today issued the following statement recognizing Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day:

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is pleased to support Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, a nationwide effort to increase public awareness about a valuable tax credit for working families and free tax preparation sites.

National banks and federal savings associations play an important role in educating their customers about money-saving opportunities. I applaud our financial institutions that work with their communities to promote the EITC and free tax assistance programs, and encourage them to partner with nonprofit organizations and government agencies to:

  • Sponsor IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs in bank branches and support employees who volunteer as tax preparers in low- and moderate-income communities.
  • Promote and provide low-cost bank products and services that enable EITC recipients to directly deposit their income tax refunds.
  • Encourage the use of EITC refunds in bank-sponsored savings match programs, also known as Individual Development Accounts.

The OCC provides resources on the EITC at its website at www.occ.gov, including the Leveraging Earned Income Tax Credits to Reach New Bank Customers Fact Sheet. OCC's District Community Affairs Officers are available nationwide to provide information about this and other initiatives to national banks and federal savings associations interested in promoting the EITC in their communities.

Created in 1975, the EITC is the federal government's largest program for benefiting working families. It is a refundable tax credit for people who work but do not earn high incomes. Last year, more than 27 million taxpayers received over $63 billion in EITCs for an average of $2,335.

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