Session: Fiscal Fairness: Rethinking Tax Policy for Inclusion, Equity, and Social Welfare (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

This symposium is dedicated to examining potential enhancements to federal tax policy to mitigate social disparities across race, class, and gender among households with children. Extant research underscores the relationship between the receipt of federal tax credits, notably the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and a range of beneficial outcomes at the household, maternal, and child levels. Research indicates tax credits can ameliorate material deprivation, enhance maternal health, reduce instances of low birth weight in infants, and increase high school and college completion among youth. The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in 2021 has spurred increased attention into the potential advantages of providing cash transfers to families with children, particularly low-income families. Consequently, a broad coalition of organizations throughout the US is actively advocating for the permanent adoption of this temporary expansion.

Despite the wealth of research on tax credits, only recently have scholars begun to explore the differential impacts of tax policies across various social groups, as well as the divergent experiences concerning the application for such credits. Furthermore, the potential disparate effects of other facets of the income tax system, such as marriage tax penalties and bonuses, have largely been overlooked by social policy researchers. Advocacy spearheaded by social and racial justice organizations in recent years have compelled federal policymakers to consider the unequal impacts and administrative challenges with tax policy for socially marginalized communities. The four papers in this symposium contribute to these reform endeavors by expanding our understanding of how tax policy can be improved to reduce social and racial disparities in both the receipt and impact of various tax policies.

We begin by elucidating the divergent experiences families encounter with federal tax policies. The initial two papers offer evidence indicating that tax filing and the receipt of the tax credits is not uniformly accessible. Drawing upon original qualitative data and nationally representative survey data, these papers shed light on the distinct barriers marginalized families face in accessing the EITC and CTC. Subsequently, we delve into an examination of how tax policy may differentially impact families with children, including its influence on labor force participation and after-tax income. Leveraging nationally representative data, the first paper furnishes evidence contradicting the concerns of certain policymakers, suggesting that the expanded CTC may have actually augmented, rather than diminished, labor force participation among specific marginalized groups. The potential of a nationwide income support program like the CTC to boost labor force participation among marginalized groups bears significant implications for the future trajectory of anti-poverty policy in the US. The concluding paper addresses concerns among policymakers regarding the influence of tax policy on the financial circumstances of married couples, and the racial disparities in the incidence and magnitude of marriage tax penalties. Identifying the sources of such disparities holds profound importance for reform efforts aimed at dismantling the structural underpinnings that perpetuate racial inequality. These papers foreground racial equity and social justice considerations and offer innovative solutions that hold promise for advancing the economic welfare of marginalized families.