Editing Minimum wage (section)

===Refundable tax credit===
A [[refundable tax credit]] is a mechanism whereby the tax system can reduce the tax owed by a household to below zero, and result in a net payment to the taxpayer beyond their own payments into the tax system. Examples of refundable tax credits include the [[earned income tax credit]] and the additional [[child tax credit]] in the US, and [[working tax credit]]s and [[child tax credit]]s in the UK. Such a system is slightly different from a [[negative income tax]], in that the refundable tax credit is usually only paid to households that have earned at least some income. This policy is more targeted against poverty than the minimum wage, because it avoids subsidizing low-income workers who are supported by high-income households (for example, teenagers still living with their parents).<ref name="wbur">{{cite news|title=What The Research Says In The Minimum Wage Debate|agency=WBUR|date=28 April 2014|author=David Scharfenberg}}</ref>

In the United States, earned income tax credit rates, also known as EITC or EIC, vary by state—some are refundable while other states do not allow a refundable tax credit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stateeitc.com/map/index.asp|title=50 State Resources Map on State EITCs|publisher=The Hatcher Group|access-date=16 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423021254/http://www.stateeitc.com/map/index.asp|archive-date=23 April 2009}}</ref> The federal EITC program has been expanded by a number of presidents including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1649|title=New Research Findings on the Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit|work=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities |access-date=30 June 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617180942/http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1649|archive-date=17 June 2010}}</ref> In 1986, President Reagan described the EITC as "the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=134 |title=Tax Reform and Poverty |publisher=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities |first=Jason |last=Furman |date=10 April 2006 |access-date=7 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213060957/http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=134 |archive-date=13 December 2013 }}</ref> The ability of the earned income tax credit to deliver larger monetary benefits to the poor workers than an increase in the minimum wage and at a lower cost to society was documented in a 2007 report by the [[Congressional Budget Office]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/77xx/doc7721/01-09-MinimumWageEITC.pdf |title=Response to a Request by Senator Grassley About the Effects of Increasing the Federal Minimum Wage Versus Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit |publisher=Congressional Budget Office |date=9 January 2007 |access-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731074250/http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/77xx/doc7721/01-09-MinimumWageEITC.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Adam Smith Institute]] prefers cutting taxes on the poor and middle class instead of raising wages as an alternative to the minimum wage.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Comment: Minimum Wage rise risks harming workers; cut taxes on the poor instead |publisher=Adam Smith Institute |date=March 2019 |url=http://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-releases/comment-minimum-wage-rise-risks-harming-workers-cut-taxes-on-the-poor-instead |access-date=19 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142735/http://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-releases/comment-minimum-wage-rise-risks-harming-workers-cut-taxes-on-the-poor-instead |archive-date=13 April 2014 }}</ref>