Tax Policy Center

EITC

: TaxVox

The TCJA Didn’t Change Child Benefits For Most Families With Children By Very Much

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) significantly changed how families with children were treated under the individual income tax, but for many - changed...
October 8, 2019Elaine Maag
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Working Families Tax Relief Act Provides Substantial Benefits - And Misses Opportunity

Democrats are focused on passing the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA), and for good reason. If passed, the WFTRA would provide about $ 85...
September 26, 2019Elaine Maag
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The Economic Security Project Proposes A Simpler And More Generous Tax Credit For Low-Income Workers And Caregivers

Expanding the earned income tax credit (EITC) has support from a wide range of policy experts. Yet the expansion ideas come in many different forms...
July 2, 2019Elaine Maag
: TaxVox

New Tax Credit Could End Poverty For US Workers And Boost the Middle Class

In a new paper , I propose a universal earned income tax credit (UEITC)—a one-for-one match on the first $10,000 of earnings delivered through a...
May 21, 2019Leonard E. Burman
: TaxVox

The Senate Democrats’ Plan To Expand Refundable Tax Credits For Working Families Builds On Existing Ideas

Senate Democrats have rallied around the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA) that would significantly expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and more modestly...
April 22, 2019Elaine Maag
: TaxVox

Four Ways To Tell When A Tax Proposal Is Serious

Some ideas are more substantive than others.
April 11, 2019Howard Gleckman
: TaxVox

To Help Close The Tax Gap The IRS Should Focus On Small Business Compliance, Not EITC Claimants

Although overall IRS audit rates are remarkably low (less than one percent), returns claiming an EITC are twice as likely to be audited as those...
March 14, 2019Elaine MaagRobert A. Weinberger
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

"Tell me what you want, what you really, really want..."

Do parents want subsidies for child care providers? Or cash for themselves?
I asked some parents to make a choice. Their response was perhaps not what Warren hoped for, given her proposed Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act.
March 6, 2019Renu Zaretsky
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

District of Columbia Shows How to Expand the EITC For Childless Workers

Federal lawmakers ranging from Sherrod Brown to Paul Ryan have proposed expanding the earned income tax credit (EITC) for childless workers for years without enacting...
February 26, 2019Richard C. Auxier
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Can Harris And Booker’s Plans Help Poor People Avoid Eviction?

Remember Evicted , Matthew Desmond’s harrowing account of the housing travails of low-income families in Milwaukee? Undoubtedly senators (and presidential hopefuls) Cory Booker and Kamala...
February 7, 2019Janet Holtzblatt