Federal Tax Policies And Rural Households

Analyzes the increasing use of refundable tax credits targeted to low- and moderate-income households in the Federal individual income tax and determines their implications for rural America. The analysis matches a zip code approximation of the 2006 Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes with IRS Individual Income Tax zip code and related data. These data are then used to examine the impact of the recent expansions to income tax credit programs on affected households. Expansions to both the refundable and non-refundable portions of the Earned Income and Child Tax credits have provided a major source of income support for low-income workers, especially in the South, where the rural poor are concentrated. Illus. A print on demand report.