ScholarLens Back to search
2020•National Tax JournalRequires access

A UNIVERSAL EITC

Leonard E. Burman

Open publisher page 2 citations

Abstract

The universal earned income tax credit is a worker subsidy designed to offset wage stagnation. The base proposal would replace existing subsidies for working families with a refundable 100 percent tax credit on individual wages up to $10,000 and a larger, refundable child tax credit. The maximum credit grows with gross domestic product, guaranteeing that low-wage workers benefit from economic growth. The credits are offset by a broad-based value-added tax or income surtax. The proposals are progressive: After-tax income for the bottom quintile would increase by about 25 percent. The tax burden on the top 1 percent would increase by 7–14 percent of income, depending on financing.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

The universal earned income tax credit is a worker subsidy designed to offset wage stagnation. The base proposal would replace existing subsidies for working families with a refundable 100 percent tax credit on individual wages up to $10,000 and a larger, refundable child tax credit. The maximum credit grows with gross domestic product, guaranteeing that low-wage workers benefit from economic growth. The credits are offset by a broad-based value-added tax or income surtax. The proposals are progressive: After-tax income for the bottom quintile would increase by about 25 percent. The tax burden on the top 1 percent would increase by 7–14 percent of income, depending on financing.

Why it matters

OpenAlex reports 2 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

Key contribution

A contribution statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.

Method / approach

Method details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Main findings

Findings are not separately available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Limitations

Limitations are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Applications

Application details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Available abstract

The universal earned income tax credit is a worker subsidy designed to offset wage stagnation. The base proposal would replace existing subsidies for working families with a refundable 100 percent tax credit on individual wages up to $10,000 and a larger, refundable child tax credit. The maximum credit grows with gross domestic product, guaranteeing that low-wage workers benefit from economic growth. The credits are offset by a broad-based value-added tax or income surtax. The proposals are progressive: After-tax income for the bottom quintile would increase by about 25 percent. The tax burden on the top 1 percent would increase by 7–14 percent of income, depending on financing.

Key concepts: Earned income tax credit, Economics, Tax credit, Subsidy, Labour economics, Value-added tax, State income tax, Tax deduction

Related papers

Related paper 1Related paper 2Related paper 3
Back to paper searchBrowse research topicsOriginal source
A UNIVERSAL EITC — Research Paper | ScholarLens