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Comptroller seeks email option to notify employers about state earned-income tax credit
Summary
The comptroller testified before the Ways and Means Committee in support of House Bill 603, which would allow the Office of the Comptroller to notify employers by email as well as U.S. mail about the state Earned Income Tax Credit to increase awareness and uptake.
The Office of the Comptroller urged the Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 6 to give it the option to email employers about the state Earned Income Tax Credit so employers can pass information to qualifying employees.
“This is a bill, that is pretty simple,” Comptroller Brooke Lierman told the committee, describing the measure as a step to modernize outreach. Lierman said the agency currently must mail notices to employers each year under an older code provision, at a recurring cost of about $150,000, and many mailed letters are returned or never opened.
The bill would add flexibility so the comptroller may either mail or email outreach materials to employers with employees who may qualify for the state EITC. Lierman said the agency would use email where valid addresses exist and fall back to mail when emails bounce or are unavailable. “We would first look and see, okay, let's look at all our email addresses. Are they good email addresses? Are they not bouncing back?” she said.
Committee members asked whether the change creates a new mandate for employers. Delegate Buckle noted, “We already require you to do this, right? I'm an employer.” Lierman replied the bill is not a new employer requirement but “just making it easier and quicker and hopefully cheaper” for the agency to reach employers who can share the information with employees.
Supporters framed the measure as administrative modernization intended to increase awareness of a bipartisan anti-poverty program and boost take-up among eligible low-income workers who often do not file tax returns because they owe no tax. The bill's sponsor sought a favorable report; the hearing record shows no vote at the session's end.
Implementation details: Lierman said the comptroller would assess available employer emails, use the best available contact information, and track bounce rates to decide whether to mail notices. The agency also expects to rely on internal modernization, including its office of the taxpayer advocate, to implement the outreach.
The committee concluded the hearing and moved on to its next agenda items without a recorded formal vote on HB 603.
