Further Information

EITC Campaigns, Organizations, and Web Sites

Annie E. Casey Foundation: (www.eitc.info). The foundation’s “National Tax Assistance for Working Families Campaign” supports EITC campaigns in 24 cities and three rural areas. The campaign promotes outreach; free or low-cost tax preparation; and asset-building activities. The project’s Web site includes materials from the various campaigns as well as a “How-to” kit for emerging campaigns.

Brookings Institution: (www.brookings.edu). The Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy has issued a series of reports examining the impact of the EITC on metropolitan regions and the price of paid tax preparation services, including RALs. The Web site provides links to these reports as well as detailed data by zip code, city, and metropolitan area.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: (www.cbpp.org). CBPP produces a comprehensive annual Earned Income Credit Campaign Kit that includes information on the EITC and other tax credits, recommendations for planning and operating an outreach campaign, and descriptions of efforts from across the country. The kit also includes sample outreach materials, such as posters and envelope stuffers, available in many languages.

Center for Economic Progress: (www.centerforprogress.org). Based in Chicago, the Center for Economic Progress operates the nation’s largest tax preparation program, completing 27,000 federal and state income tax returns in 2002. CEP also houses the National Tax Coalition, a coalition of tax assistance programs that provides technical assistance to emerging initiatives and speaks out on tax issues impacting the working poor.

Community Action Project of Tulsa County: (www.freetaxes.net). CAP conducts an outreach campaign in Tulsa utilizing both media advertising and outreach through government, community agencies, and faith-based organizations. The Project also runs tax preparation sites, using Community Development Block Grant funds. In 2001, its sites completed more than 12,000 tax returns, generating $12.7 million in EITC refunds.

Internal Revenue Service: (www.irs.gov). The IRS Web site provides all tax forms and instructions, EITC and other tax data by zip code, and information for both employers and tax filers about the EITC. Contact the local IRS Territory Managers for a list of VITA programs and support for new programs. The IRS also produces outreach materials about the EITC that can be ordered for distribution by local campaigns.

Los Angeles EITC Campaign: (www.eitc-la.com). The City and County of Los Angeles conduct an annual informational campaign about the EITC, distributing information to all local government employees, as well as through “one-stop” offices and a telephone hotline. The efforts helped Los Angeles increase EITC filing rates faster than the country as a whole. [15]

Mayor Daley's Earned Income Tax Credit Outreach Initiative: (www.chicago-eitc.org). Mayor Richard Daley conducts an annual campaign to promote the EITC in Chicago. Key partners include the business community, media, and nonprofit tax preparation programs. To help spur similar initiatives elsewhere, the city has developed a publication describing its efforts and has made it available on its Web site.

National League of Cities: (www.nlc.org/iyef). The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families provides information and assistance to local efforts. The Web site includes a “Helping Working Families Action Kit for Municipal Leaders” that describes steps local leaders can take to develop city-led outreach campaigns to link families with food stamps, health insurance, and the EITC.

References and Reading List

Berube, Alan and Benjamin Forman. 2001. A Local Ladder for the Working Poor: The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit in U.S. Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy in Collaboration with the National League of Cities. Available online at www.brookings.edu.

Berube, Alan, Anne Kim, Benjamin Forman, and Megan Burns. 2002. The Price of Paying Taxes: How Tax Preparation and Refund Loan Fees Erode the Benefits of the EITC. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy and the Progressive Policy Institute. Available online at www.brookings.edu.

Bloom, Dan, Susan Scrivener, Charles Michalopoulos, Pamela Morris, Richard Hendra, Diana Adams-Ciardullo, and Johanna Walter. 2002. Jobs First: Final Report on Connecticut’s Welfare Reform Initiative. New York: MDRC. Available online at www.mdrc.org.

Bos, Johannes M., Aletha C. Huston, Robert C. Granger, Greg J. Duncan, Thomas W. Brock, and Vonnie C McLoyd. 1999. New Hope for People with Low Incomes: Two-Year Results of a Program to Reduce Poverty and Reform Welfare. New York: MDRC. Available online at www.mdrc.org.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 2000. How Much Would a State Earned Income Tax Credit Cost? Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available online at www.cbpp.org.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 1998. Strengths of the Safety Net: How the EITC, Social Security, and Other Government Programs Affect Poverty. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available online at www.cbpp.org.

Greenberger, Debbie, and Robert Anselmi. 2003. Making Work Pay: How to Design and Implement Financial Work Supports to Improve Family and Child Well-Being and Reduce Poverty. New York: MDRC. Available online at www.mdrc.org.

Hill, Carolyn J., V. Joseph Hotz, Charles H. Mullin, and John Karl Scholz. 1999. EITC Eligibility, Participation, and Compliance Rates for AFDC Households: Evidence from the California Caseload. Working Paper 102. Chicago: Joint Center on Poverty Research. Available online at www.jcpr.org.

Internal Revenue Service. 2002. Participation in the Earned Income Tax Credit Program for Tax Year 1996. Washington, DC: Internal Revenue Service.

Johnson, Nicholas. 2001. A Hand Up: How State Earned Income Tax Credits Help Working Families Escape Poverty in 2002. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available online at www.cbpp.org.

National Taxpayer Advocate. 2002. FY 2002 Annual Report to Congress. Washington, DC: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. Available online at www.irs.gov.

Phillips, Katherin Ross. 2001. Who Knows About the Earned Income Tax Credit? New Federalism Series B, No. B-27. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Available online at www.urban.org.

Scholz, John Karl. “The Earned Income Tax Credit: Participation, Compliance, and Antipoverty Effectiveness.” National Tax Journal, Vol. 47, no. 1, March 1994.

Scrivener, Susan, Richard Hendra, Cindy Redcross, Dan Bloom, Charles Michalopoulos, and Johanna Walter. 2002. WRP: Final Report on Vermont’s Welfare Restructuring Project. New York: MDRC. Available online at www.mdrc.org.

Smeeding, Timothy M., Katherin Ross Phillips, and Michael O'Connor. 2000. The EITC: Expectation, Knowledge, Use, and Economic and Social Mobility. CPR Working Paper Series No. 13. Syracuse, New York: The Maxwell School, Center for Policy Research. Available online at www-cpr.maxwell.syr.edu.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Education. 2001. How Effective Are Different Welfare-to-Work Approaches: Five Year Adult and Child Impacts for Eleven Programs. New York: MDRC. Available online at www.mdrc.org.

U.S. General Accounting Office. 2001. Earned Income Tax Credit Eligibility and Participation. GAO-02-290R. Washington DC: United States General Accounting Office. Available online at www.gao.gov.

Wu, Chi Chi, Jean Ann Fox, and Elizabeth Renuart. 2002. Tax Preparers Peddle High Priced Refund Loans: Millions Skimmed from the Working Poor and the U.S. Treasury. Washington, DC: Consumer Federation of America and National Consumer Law Center. Available online at www.consumerfed.org.