Idea of the Day: Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit

June 4, 2008

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As one of our recommended 12 steps to cut poverty in half in the next 10 years, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would greatly assist the one in eight Americans who lives in poverty. As an earnings supplement for low-income working families, the EITC raises incomes and helps families build assets. The Child Tax Credit provides a tax credit of up to $1,000 per child, but provides no help to the poorest families. We recommend tripling the EITC for childless workers and expanding help to larger working families. We recommend making the Child Tax Credit available to all low- and moderate-income families. Doing so would move as many as 5 million people out of poverty.

For more information on this topic, please see:

• From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half by the Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty
• Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity