How Refundable Tax Credits Can Advance Gender and Racial Equity

Abstract

The federal tax code is progressive — taxpayers with higher incomes pay a greater share of their income in taxes than taxpayers with lower income. The federal tax system also provides many benefits that favor those with high incomes over those with low incomes. Women, and especially women of color, tend to have lower incomes, and as such, these provisions widen income inequality between men and women, most dramatically women of color. This article argues that refundable tax credits, which deliver benefits to low-income families, have a substantial, positive impact on women and their families, and that recent expansions improved the economic security of women, especially women of color, promoting gender and racial equity.