Monday, May 17, 2004

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released A Hand Up: How State Earned Income Tax Credits Help Working Families Escape Poverty. The effectiveness of the federal EITC in encouraging work among welfare recipients and in inducing more single mothers to work has been well-studied. State EITCs, however, often have been ignored in this scholarly debate. In all, 17 states (Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia have EITCs ranging from 4% to 43%. For a full summary of the report, see here.