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Tax refunds and income manipulation: evidence from the EITC

Author

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  • Buhlmann, Florian
  • Elsner, Benjamin
  • Peichl, Andreas
Abstract
Welfare programs are important in terms of reducing poverty, although they create incentives for recipients to maximize their income by either reducing their labor supply or manipulating their taxable income. In this paper, we quantify the extent of such behavioral responses for the earned income tax credit (EITC) in the USA. We exploit the fact that US states can set top-up rates, which means that at a given point in time, workers with the same income receive different tax refunds in different states. Using event studies as well as a border pair design, we document that raising the state EITC leads to more bunching of self-employed tax filers at the first kink point of the tax schedule. While we document a strong relationship up until 2007, we find no effect during the Great Recession. These findings point to important behavioral responses to the largest welfare program in the USA.

Suggested Citation

  • Buhlmann, Florian & Elsner, Benjamin & Peichl, Andreas, 2018. "Tax refunds and income manipulation: evidence from the EITC," Munich Reprints in Economics 62847, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:62847
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    2. Priyaranjan Jha & David Neumark & Antonio Rodriguez-Lopez, 2022. "What's Across the Border? Re-Evaluating the Cross-Border Evidence on Minimum Wage Effects," CESifo Working Paper Series 9746, CESifo.
    3. Hargaden, Enda Patrick, 2020. "Taxpayer responses in good times and bad," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 653-690.
    4. Bastani, Spencer & Giebe, Thomas & Miao, Chizheng, 2020. "Ethnicity and tax filing behavior," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Watson, C. Luke, 2021. "the General Equilibrium Incidence of the Earned Income Tax Credit," SocArXiv 8n3ag, Center for Open Science.
    6. Lim, Katherine & Michelmore, Katherine, 2018. "The EITC and self-employment among married mothers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 98-115.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

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