Census data finds EITC reduced poverty rate in 2010
September 14th, 2011
New Census data released yesterday reveals that the number of Americans living in poverty has risen for the fourth year in a row, with another 2.6 million Americans slipping into poverty in 2010. Roughly 46.2 million, or 15.1 percent of Americans, are now considered to be living below the poverty line, the highest number since the U.S. Census Bureau began calculating it in 1959.
While official poverty statistics don’t take into account the impact that much-need assistance from working family tax credits and other support programs had in preventing poverty, the bureau did determine that 5.2 million Americans, including 3 million children, would not be in poverty if it included federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits in its income measurements. Of course, many more families benefited from the EITC even though they either remained below the poverty level or were barely above the poverty level even before they received the EITC.
In October, the Census Bureau will release preliminary estimates using the approach they are developing for the new Supplemental Poverty Measure, that will provide further insight into the extent that income from a variety of other income sources reduced poverty in the U.S. last year. The additional data is expected to include insights on other tax-based supports such as the Child Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care Credit. The report should offer a new, accurate measure of the impact of all three tax credits on working families and their children.
Posted in Benefits of Family Tax Credits, Earned Income Tax Credit, Federal, Recent Updates | No Comments »
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