Many Low-Income Rural Families Benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit

The earned income tax credit has become a major source of income support for low-income workers and their families. The credit provided 37 million rural working poor with a $33 billion boost in income in 1992. Program benefits were largest in the South where the rural poor are concentrated. By 1996, expansions of the program are expected to nearly double the level of benefits provided to the rural working poor. However, major program changes have been proposed that would reduce both the number of credit recipients and the level of benefits