Never mind, finally found it. The earned income tax credit gives a ‘rebate’ to taxpayers who don’t actually pay taxes. WTF?
The EITC goes all the way back to Carter. Clinton made it a much bigger deal.
One year, I think it was ‘93 or ‘94, I actually received an EITC check. I wouldn’t have known how to claim it, but I was having my taxes done by an accountant, and he got it for me. Heck, I had never even heard of it at the time. Our income had dropped by a large amount because I had moved to a different State and started up my career as a freelancer.