A Guide to the Earned Income Tax Credit: What Everyone Should Know About the EITC

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was created in 1975 as an anti-poverty, non-welfare program to reduce poverty among the working poor. This paper seeks to increase knowledge about the EITC by providing a comprehensive understanding of what the EITC is and how it impacts poverty in the United States. The goals, history, and structure of the EITC are described, and the efficacy of the credit is analyzed in terms of its goals. Weaknesses of the EITC are discussed along with possible solutions. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.