Brookings Event Will Showcase NYC Expanded EITC Pilot Program
A November 14 forum at the Brookings Institution will examine a groundbreaking pilot program launched in New York City to gauge the effectiveness of an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in promoting work and reducing poverty among single adults.
The project, implemented by The Center for Economic Opportunity and MDRC, will offer up to $2,000 a year over a three-year period to participants earning up to $26,800 per year, with the maximum payment being made to those earning between $6,667 and $14,300. The federal EITC is currently capped at $6,000 a year for the lowest-earning recipients with children filing jointly, but offers a maximum payment amount of only $487 for single tax-filers. Research indicates that enhancing the credit for single workers could potentially increase employment and incomes by as much as 10 percent. Six thousand participants will take part in the piloted program, with 3,000 eligible to receive the expanded credit and 3,000 forming a control group.
Gordon Berlin, president of MDRC, will introduce the experiment at the November 14 forum, hosted by the Center on Children and Families at Brookings. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) will then deliver the keynote address, followed by a panel discussion among a number of policy experts to further examine the project and its implications for national policy.
You can register to attend this event here.