negative income tax

noun

: a system of federal subsidy payments to families with incomes below a stipulated level

Examples of negative income tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Those who are struggling need a helping hand: a negative income tax or family assistance plan — the brainchild of conservative economist Milton Friedman. Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2024 In 1969, Nixon introduced the Family Assistance Plan, which would have provided additional cash to poor families through a negative income tax — cutting checks to the poorest Americans instead of them paying the government — of $1,600 (about $13,000 today) for a family of four. Megan Greenwell, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2022 By the way, just to demonstrate how ignorant Scott is about federal taxes, almost everyone pays them; the lowest-income 50%, who pay no federal income taxes or have negative income tax bills, are billed for federal payroll taxes to fund Social Security and part of Medicare. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2022 In a negative income tax, a tax filer below the federal poverty line, adjusted for a geographic cost of living, would receive from the IRS the difference between the income filed and the poverty line. Elise Amez-Droz and Phillip Phan, STAT, 6 Oct. 2022 Second, for individuals with low incomes, these accounts could be funded in the same way as a negative income tax. Elise Amez-Droz and Phillip Phan, STAT, 6 Oct. 2022 If those receiving the negative income tax lost their job, the spell of unemployment lasted two months longer on average than with non-recipients and 12 months longer for married women. Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021 Statistics from earlier federal pilot programs on negative income tax, a variant of UBI, are equally discouraging. Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021 Between 1968 and 1980, Washington made four controlled trials of negative income tax, involving thousands of people across six states. Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of negative income tax was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near negative income tax

Cite this Entry

“Negative income tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negative%20income%20tax. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

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