NEW ORLEANS - January 19 - Today, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) released a report, “Missing Millions 2007”, calculating the number of low-income working families who may be missing out on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the amount of money lost. The report also examines the prevalence of Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) and the amount of money siphoned off through this predatory practice.

“ACORN is trying to send the message that the EITC is the most effective anti-poverty program in the country, so please use it,’’ said ACORN National President Maude Hurd. “We want to make sure people aren’t being taken advantage of by the loan-shark, Refund Anticipation Loan, but will instead invest in themselves by using the EITC tax benefits.’’

Research by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and IRS indicates that between 15 to 25 percent of households who have earned the EITC do not claim their credit. Using the most conservative of these figures would mean that more than 3.8 million households nationwide missed out on the EITC dollards to which they were entitled.

Based on a 15 percent unclaimed rate, low-wage working families did not cash in on more than $7 billion in EITC dollars.

For example, in Atlanta approximately 13,900 low-income working households missed out on over $28.5 million in EITC refunds to which they are entiteld. The report also shows that approximately 34,900 EITC recipients -- 44% of the households in Atlanta who received the EITC – paid for a RAL in 2005 in order to get their refund, costing them more than $4.5 million in RAL fees.

During the coming tax season, ACORN will conduct a grassroots door-to-door outreach campaign to help more families claim their EITC benefits. ACORN will also open a free tax preparation center to enable families to keep more of the money they earned by not spending it on tax preparation and RALs. The tax service will start in late January at the ACORN office nationwide through the end of tax season.

The ACORN Tax Center can electronically file current year taxes and also provide fast refunds for those taxpayers who would like their refunds direct-deposited into their bank account, usually in as few as 10 days. The Tax Center is part of the IRS’s VITA program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). ACORN is operating 90 tax centers across the country.

CITIES with households not claiming EITC funds (in millions): New York ($268), Houston ($103), Chicago ($98), Los Angeles ($81), San Antonio ($56), Philadelphia ($53), Dallas ($43), El Paso ($40), Memphis ($40), Detroit ($38).

CITIES LISTED WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF EITC recipients using a RAL: Pine Bluff, Ark. (57), Jackson, Miss. (56), Memphis, Tenn. (56), Birmingham, Ala. (52), Little Rock, Ark. (50), Lake Charles, La. (48), Baton Rouge (47), Columbia, S.C. (47), Detriot (46), Dayton, Ohio (45).

CITIES with most amount of money lost to RAL by EITC recipients (in millions): New York ($20.4), Chicago ($13.1), Houston ($12), Memphis ($7.6), San Antonio ($7.1), Dallas ($6.8), Philadelphia ($6.8), Detroit ($6), Los Angeles ($5.3), St. Louis ($4.6).

For a full report, visit www.acorn.org/predatorylending.

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