The Introduction explains that the EITC is a largely successful social program, but one that can be improved upon as part of a broader effort to address poverty in the United States. It provides a roadmap for the book, identifying some of the challenges taxpayers face and summarizing why the time is right for a reimagination of the EITC. It outlines potential benefits of the reimagination, such as a more coherent tax policy, a simplified structure for family benefits, a reduction in opportunities for tax return preparer fraud and tax-related identity theft, and a periodic distribution of benefits.