Refund Anticipation Loans & the Earned Income Tax Credit in West Virginia

In 2007, working West Virginians with modest incomes lost nearly $13 million of their federal EITC refunds to tax preparers who promised them “fast cash” in the form of Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs).  EITC recipients disproportionately use these short-term, high-cost loans.  With three out of ten EITC recipients purchasing a RAL in 2007, approximately five percent of the federal money intended to help these working families make ends meet was redirected into tax preparers’ pockets.

Visit http://www.wvpolicy.org/ralb.html for additional information.