California’s new EITC provides an opportunity to consider whether or not the design characteristics of the federal EITC, which most states have simply replicated, should be reconsidered—either by states acting on their own or perhaps by the federal government itself through modifications of the federal credit. Our analysis highlights the various trade-offs inherent in alternative credit designs and shows that by specifying different parameters states can differentially affect specific groups of taxpayers.
This article was originally published in the New York University School of Law Tax Law Review.