演講者簡介 : Prof. Ho, Chih-Chin 為Ph.D. in Economics，University of Michigan at Ann Arbor。
現為台灣大學經濟系教授兼系主任。
其主要研究領域為財政收入及公共支出。
演講摘要 : Administered as a refundable tax credit, the U.S. Earned Income Credit (EIC) annually delivers $38 billion in cash benefits to 22 million low and moderate income families. In this paper, we investigate participation and compliance within the program, focusing on households who have a legal filing obligation – a group that represents roughly three-fourths of the credit-eligible population. Our estimates indicate that their participation rate in tax year 1988 was approximately 89 percent and was sensitive to the real value of the credit. Our simulation predicts that their program participation grew to 94.2 percent by 1999, largely in response to the substantial rise in real program benefits over this period. Among households with no filing requirement, our estimates suggest that the participation rate is much lower, ranging from roughly 31 to 39 percent in 1988 and rising to approximately 50 percent in 1999. This suggests that the EIC may actually be less effective in reaching households without a legal filing requirement than traditional welfare programs. Compliance within the program has been a persistent problem. Our results indicate that ineligible households are substantially more likely to submit an erroneous claim when they satisfy some of the program requirements. We find no evidence of a deterrent role by tax practitioners with respect to improper EIC claims.
