2014 Reports

Taxing the Poor: State Income Tax Policies Make a Big Difference to Working Families

Hartig, Seth; Skinner, Curtis; Ekono, Mercedes M.

An NCCP analysis of state tax policy finds that a significant number of states continue to push the working poor deeper into poverty by imposing income tax liabilities on poverty-level earnings–liabilities that in some states reach hundreds of dollars. In contrast to states that tax the poor, a growing number of states offer supports to poor families through refundable tax credits, providing income supplements that that can reach up to almost two thousand dollars per family.