Joel Johnson, Maine Center for Economic Policy, April 2015. The EITC reduces poverty, promotes work, and, for children in low-income working families, it increases lifetime earnings. Unfortunately, Maine’s version of the credit is much too small to be effective and is not refundable. Only 20,000 Maine families received an average state credit of approximately $55 in 2013. To reduce poverty and make work pay for Maine’s low-income families, especially those with children, state policymakers should increase the size of Maine’s EITC and make it refundable.
http://www.mecep.org/fix-maines-eitc-to-reward-work-and-reduce-poverty/