Economic Recovery And The EITC: Expanding The Earned Income Tax Credit To Benefit Families And Places

The economic recovery package currently under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as corresponding legislation before the Senate Finance committee, includes a number of tax relief provisions that would benefit lower-income workers and their families. One such provision would temporarily expand the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC - a refundable tax credit for people who work but earn low incomes - is the country's largest and most successful anti-poverty program. The EITC delivers over $40 billion dollars a year in wage supplements to lower-income workers and their families and lifts more than 4 million people out of poverty each year.