Negative income tax notion has long been popular in some circles, its implementation has never been politically feasible. This is partly because of the very complex and entrenched nature of most countries' current tax laws: they would have to be rewritten under any NIT system. However, some countries have seen the introduction of refundable (or non-wastable) tax credits which can be paid even when there is no tax liability to be offset, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit in the United States and working tax credit in the UK. In 1971, President Richard Nixon proposed a negative income tax as the centerpiece
Working Tax Credit in tax credits; so the true cost is only £41. Other concessions with regard to assessment of income (in contrast to means testing used elsewhere) include: Around 7 million people in the UK are entitled to claim Working Tax Credit or the companion Child Tax Credit, although around 2 million people do not do so. The levels of Tax Credit take-up in the UK have not risen in recent years, despite an increase of 100,000 children living in households classed as "below the poverty line" between 2004 and 2005. The introduction of the Working Tax Credit scheme was marred by