‘EITC 101’ Just In Time for EITC Awareness Day

By Kate Skochdopole

With EITC Awareness Day coming up on January 29, we all could use a refresher on why the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is worth celebrating.

No Jargon, a podcast from the Scholar Strategy Network, recently devoted an episode to the EITC and featured Laura Tach, an assistant professor of analysis and management at Cornell University who outlined why the successful anti-poverty program is so special. Tach, who co-authored It’s Not Like I’m Poor last year, also discussed the ways recipients spend their refunds. Most, she says, use the money to pay down debt or make big purchases like a used car that would not be possible at other times of the year.

No Jargon gives social scientists a platform to explain important social and policy issues in laymen’s terms. Other episodes have featured Christopher Faircy, a professor at Syracuse University, discussing the upside-down tax code and Marion Johnson of Think NC First who outlined the pros and cons of paid sick leave policies.

Do you or your organization have big plans for EITC Awareness Day? Let TCWF know how you’ll be celebrating to be featured on our website and social media.