This study, from the Brookings Institution, utilizes data from the IRS Stakeholder, Partnerships, Education, and Communications (SPEC) division regarding EITC recipients in tax years 2000 and 2004. Researchers found that in 2004, one in six taxpayers received the EITC. The proportion of EITC recipients who filed their returns through volunteer tax sites was under 2 percent, with over 70 percent using paid preparers.

While the Earned Income Tax Credit has traditionally been viewed as an anti-poverty policy, Alan Berube, from the Brookings Institution, offers insight into how the EITC can have significant effects on local and regional economies. In San Antonio, it is estimated that each one dollar in EITC would generate a further 1.58 dollars in local economic activity. Similarly, a recent study in Baltimore found that EITC dollars generate close to 600,000 dollars in local income and property tax revenues.

This article from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides an overview of state income tax liability for low-income families. For the 2006 tax year, in 19 of the 42 states that levy income taxes, two-parent families of four with incomes below the federal poverty line are liable for income tax. The Center offers a variety of information on how income is taxed in different states around the country and what this means for low-income families.

This report was completed by the Program Review and Investigations Committee on Connecticut’s Welfare Reform Initiative. Authors describe the Jobs First program in detail as well as provide caseload trends, recipient demographics, and funding trends. Connecticut has utilized the earned income tax credit as a anti-poverty strategy, and authors also provide recommendations for improving work participation among the caseload.

This report, from MDRC, provides an update on welfare reform in the cities of Cleveland and Philadelphia. This study specifically reviews the policies implemented through 2005, caseload and employment trends through 2003, and neighborhood indicators describing the conditions of low-income communities in 2003.

This document provides a three step process for estimating the cost of implementing a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit. Authors from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities offer information for States considering establishing an EITC program.

This document shows that outdated minimum wages and the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit alone do not suffice in the struggle to help low-income families build assets. Instead, it is important for states to set a state minimum wage and establish a state EITC program in order to help low-income families come out of poverty.

MDRC authored this report on poverty trends -- since 1973, the poverty rate has remained relatively constant in the U.S. Authors assert that this is due to falling wages and the increase in single parenthood. This article provides information on poverty reduction initiatives such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

This article gives information for Community Action Agencies to implement effective IDA programs. It provides advice from best practices around the country and future suggestions for state policy on IDAs.

This article reviews the benefits of Individual Development Accounts to help low-income people save money and build assets for the future and toward self-sufficiency.