PolicyEngine / PolicyEngine/policyengine-us
Decide whether md_local_eitc belongs in the state EITC aggregator (taxsim_state_eitc)
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 162
- Forks
- 212
- Avg merge
- 3d 3h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 97
Description
External feedback flagged that `taxsim_state_eitc` / `state_eitc` omits `md_local_eitc` (~$273.60 in their reproduction).
`md_local_eitc` is a credit against Maryland's **county** income tax (subtracted in `md_local_income_tax_before_refundable_credits`), not the state tax, so its omission from a "state EITC" aggregator may be intentional. On the other hand, the aggregator's description says "All state Earned Income Tax Credits **and related credits**" and already includes broader credits such as `wa_working_families_tax_credit` and `mn_wfc`, and Maryland's local EITC is mandatory statewide.
Note the aggregator is reporting-only (TAXSIM compatibility): MD local tax liability already reflects the credit, so household net incomes are unaffected either way. Changing it would alter a partner-visible output, so this needs a deliberate decision rather than a drive-by fix.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by tracing the taxsim_state_eitc and state_eitc aggregators alongside md_local_eitc and md_local_income_tax_before_refundable_credits. Compare the aggregator description with Maryland’s local-tax treatment and the existing related-credit entries. Done means a deliberate, documented inclusion or exclusion decision that preserves the reporting-only scope and accounts for the partner-visible output.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100