In re Earned Income Tax Credit Exemption Constitutional Challenge Cases

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBERT E. NUGENT, Chief Judge.

Congress and the Kansas Legislature have each enacted an earned income tax credit (EIC) to afford lower-income families with children not only a refund of over-withheld wages, but also an additional refundable tax credit.1 Until last year, the right to receive the credit, along with the debtor’s income tax refund, was subject to turnover to a chapter 7 debtor’s trustee for administration and distribution to the creditors. Recognizing that the proceeds of the credit were intended by Congress and the state legislature to provide some relief for…