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

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.

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