Rural America Benefits From Expanded Use of the Federal Tax Code for Income Support

Over the past two decades, the Federal tax code increasingly has been used as a tool for achieving social and other policy objectives, primarily through the expanded use of tax credits. A larger share of rural taxpayers benefit from Federal tax policies aimed at lower income taxpayers because they have historically had lower incomes and higher poverty rates than urban households. The earned income and child tax credits have provided a substantial boost in income to low and middle-income rural taxpayers and have reduced the rural poverty rate.