‘Think Creatively’ About Earned Income Tax Credit, Lawmaker Says

The IRS and Congress need to fix the underlying issues with the earned income tax credit, Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) said Wednesday.

“We need to think creatively about how to make the credit easier to administer and bring down the improper payment rate,” Rice said at the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee hearing.

The earned income tax credit started in 1975 as a temporary solution to aid low-income taxpayers. The permanent credit helped the IRS distribute more than $270 billion in direct checks in seven months in 2020, according to a National Taxpayer Advocate report.