North Carolina’s Earned Income Tax Credit – A Modest but Vital Boost to Low-Paid Workers across the State

KEY FINDINGS

• As policymakers consider changes to the state’s tax code, it is critical to maintain proven policy tools that reverse the upside-down nature of the system. The state EITC provides workers earning low wages with a credit to offset their total state and local tax contributions.
• The state EITC continues to be a critical support for low-paid workers during the weak economic recovery. Nearly 907,000 North Carolinians claimed the credit in 2011, with claimants living in each of the state’s 100 counties.
• Research shows that the EITC is the nation’s most powerful tool to help lift families out of poverty. A cut in the state EITC would not only be a tax hike on low-paid workers, but could also push some of these workers and their children into poverty.