California Franchise Tax Board

The California Franchise Tax Board is interested in using randomized evaluations to identify effective strategies for lifting low-income Californians out of poverty by encouraging eligible households to claim the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC). Modeled after the federal EITC, one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty programs, the CalEITC provides cash to low-income, working Californians. However, not all families who are eligible claim of the credit. The Franchise Tax Board is interested in improving outreach to eligible filers, for example by sending informational letters or personalized communications. The Franchise Tax Board is also interested in testing behavioral nudges that encourage honesty and accuracy among tax filers, which might help close the annual “tax gap”—the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they actually pay—which is estimated to be over $10 billion in California alone.