BANGOR – Penquis Community Action Program was awarded recently a $49,249 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase the number of individuals in eastern Maine who benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit and other asset formation programs. The grant funds the first year of the three-year project. Additional grants will be awarded over the next two years, pending the availability of federal funds.

Penquis CAP will work with the Washington-Hancock Community Agency and the Internal Revenue Service to increase the capacity of community organizations and businesses to promote and deliver programs and services that build wealth and assets. Activities will focus on Penobscot, Piscataquis, Washington and Hancock counties and include expanding free tax assistance for low-income individuals and increasing awareness of available tax credits and asset formation programs.

According to data compiled by the Brookings Institution, for the 2002 tax year, there were 17,779 filers in the four-county area claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit for a total amount of $28,112,396 or an average of $1,581.21 per claim. It is estimated that at least 3,137 and upwards of 4,445 individuals in the four-county area are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit but do not claim it.