David Rothstein: All Related Content

In Ohio, a state credit set at 20 percent of the federal credit would create an average benefit of $446, said David Rothstein of Policy Matters Ohio. That would cost the state $360 million a year, or 2 percent of the state budget.

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... Tax-refund or anticipation loans are heavily marketed to those taxpayers who claim an Earned Income Tax Credit on their return, said David Rothstein of Policy Matters Ohio. ...

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Last year I analyzed four myths about payday lending that the Pew Charitable Trust’s “Payday Lending in America” project proved to be highly suspect in the first iteration of their study on borrowers. Their newest report (How Borrowers Choose and Repay Payday Loans) goes into more depth, revealing a love-hate relationship between borrowers and high-cost, short term loans. The report tells a conflicting story of dependence, need, stress, relief, and any other emotion associated with finances that you could think of. Borrowing from the Mythbusters again, here’s the skinny on Pew’s new report.

“Depressing and frustrating,” is what tax policy researcher David Rothstein says when he looks at the numbers of people who don’t use the free programs and don’t file for the earned-income credit. Rothstein tracks the IRS data for research group Policy Matters Ohio.

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Tucked away in the pages of the tax bill that averted the Fiscal Cliff (which Aleta Sprague reviewed here) is a crucial lifeline to struggling homeowners. Known as the Mortgage Debt Relief Act,  thousands of homeowners who go through a mortgage modification, short sale, or foreclosure correction will not owe federal taxes on that debt forgiveness. This is a big deal.

We have the chance, right now, to make smart decisions that can stabilize families, raise resources from those most able to pay, and keep in place important programs that reduce poverty and build the middle class. As we navigate those choices, here are two novel ideas to keep in mind: don’t make a deal that increases inequality and don’t make a deal that impoverishes more children.

“They want to legalize a loophole and be able to charge a lot up front,” said David Rothstein of Policy Matters Ohio, a non-partisan, left-leaning think tank in Cleveland.

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Behavioral economics heavily contributes to the way we design asset building and savings programs. We know that savers respond to cues, nudges, incentives, and targeted choices. Seems simple enough. One thing we are learning, however, is that individuals need more than just incentives. There was a time when groups would offer $50 to open a savings account and wonder why the take-up rate didn’t surpass 10 percent.

“People are not just using these loans for emergencies,” said David Rothstein, project director for asset building with Policy Matters Ohio. “They are using them for basic needs and living expenses a lot of the time, and that is a really expensive way to fulfill those needs.”

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"This is the right move for unemployed Ohioans," David Rothstein, Policy Matters' project director for asset building, said in a statement. "Unemployed workers cannot afford to have any part of their compensation siphoned off. It's critical that public dollars go directly to the families."

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“Obviously, we have some serious concerns,” said David Rothstein of Policy Matters Ohio.

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As the 2012 tax season comes to a close, the door will also close (slam shut is more appropriate) for the infamous tax loan known as the “RAL.” A refund-anticipation loan became the tax product that consumer advocates loved to hate for two decades. And, as this article points out, with good reason. The concept was to advance tax filers their refund to help pay for tax preparation and to get the much needed dollars to families quickly.