Promoting Asset Building Through the Earned Income Tax Credit

This policy brief, the first in a series on Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and state policy, provides an overview of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a rationale for using the EITC and other tax refunds to promote asset building, and recommendations for more effectively linking tax refunds to state asset-building initiatives. This brief is based on Using Tax Refunds to Promote Asset Building in Low-Income Households: Program and Policy Options, a paper written by Sondra Beverly and Colleen Dailey, published in 2003 by the CSD. The original paper examines how tax refunds can be used as a tool to promote savings and asset building in low-income households.

Project: State Assets Policy Project