The Earned Income Tax Credit: What It Does For CT, And How It Could Do Much More

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts more children out of poverty than any other federal program, and benefits 165,000 families in Connecticut. In 2004, about $268 million in federal EITC refunds came to Connecticut’s low-wage families. These funds are quickly spent, meaning that they moved quickly into Connecticut’s economy. Each of Connecticut’s neighboring states has a state EITC. Establishing a state EITC in Connecticut would help low-income families achieve self-sufficiency, address the growing disparity between high and low wage earners, and make our tax system more fair.