This article was corrected and clarified on Jan. 24, 2012. An explanation follows.

Maryland business groups say their members are ready to comply with a new state law that requires employers to notify workers of the state’s earned income tax credit.

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce and others expressed concern about the measure during last year’s legislative session. The bill was amended to ensure the Comptroller’s Office would mail notices to all employers about their requirements to notify eligible employees.

“Nobody ever disputed the importance of this credit or its value to the workers. Our only difference was whose responsibility it was,” said Ronald W. Wineholt, vice president of government affairs for the chamber. “We are encouraging our members to comply. It’ll just be something employers have to do.”

Wineholt said the amendment helps employers by requiring the comptroller to provide the notification requirements to them.

The federal earned income tax credit, part of the nation’s largest anti-poverty program, provided $821 million for tax year 2010 to almost 400,000 Marylanders, according to information from Maryland Creating Assets, Savings and Hope Campaign. The Silver Spring nonprofit says its mission is to promote financial stability for working families.

For tax year 2008, Maryland refunded an additional $82 million through its own tax credit that piggybacks on the federal program. Eighty percent of those who receive the credit earn less than $20,000 annually, according to the nonprofit.

In general, 20 percent to 25 percent of eligible employees fail to apply for the credit, amounting to $110 million in unused credits in Maryland, according to the nonprofit.

“Employers play a critical role,” said director Robin McKinney.

McKinney’s group discussed its efforts to help employers comply with the law at a news conference Monday at the Tess Center in Silver Spring.

She was joined by Sen. Richard Madeleno (D-Dist. 18) and Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Dist. 20), who talked about the three-year fight to pass the bill, especially in the face of the state chamber’s opposition.

McKinney said employers can comply by slipping notices into employees’ pay stubs or paycheck letters.

“It’s a lot simpler than the chamber made it out to be,” she said.

Rob Smith, vice president of Fitzgerald Auto Malls in Kensington, also supports the law, saying it allows flexibility in notification and informs employers who might be too caught up in other issues to be aware of the credit.

Fitzgerald employs about 1,000 people. The company provides the notice with its workers’ pay stubs, Smith said.

“People may miss other things, but everyone looks at their paycheck,” he said.

Although the Restaurant Association of Maryland took no position on the issue, the Maryland Retailers Association supported the bill when it was in the legislature, said Jeff Zellmer, vice president of government and community relations for the trade group.

“It’s not that draconian,” Zellmer said. “A lot of our members are small businesses where eligibility may not even take place.”

“Find me one employer that wouldn’t salivate at the opportunity to give their employees a raise without paying it themselves,” Mizeur said.

Yemny Brazoban, a Silver Spring worker, discussed at the news conference how the credit helped her. She filed for the credit in May after learning about it from a flier.

“It’s helping me with three years of taxes,” she said.

lrobbins@gazette.net

Explanation: The original version misquoted Ronald W. Wineholt, who actually said, “Nobody ever disputed the importance of this credit” — not “notification.” Also, the tax years for which the credits were provided were not initially reported. In addition, the $82 million figure for tax year 2008 refers to the amount refunded to taxpayers, not the total amount of the credit, a portion of which was applied to taxpayers’ bills.