New IRS Data Shows 88 Percent of EITC Benefits in 2007 Were Paid to Low Income Families

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The annual Individual Income Tax Returns report released yesterday by the Internal Revenue Service provides more evidence that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is actually better equipped to target poverty than other policy tools, including the July 24th federal minimum wage increase.

According to the report, Statistics of Income, tax return data from 2007 shows 88 percent of refundable EITC benefits -- a total of $37.3 million -- were paid directly to families with incomes of less than $25,000 a year. Employment Policies Institute (EPI) research from Syracuse University shows that an overwhelming majority (83 percent) of the benefits of minimum wage increases go to families above the poverty line. The average family income of those who will benefit from the 2009 minimum wage hike is over $47,000.

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