As Tax Day approaches, President Trump’s foot soldiers continue scrambling for a way to give bigger, more expansive tax breaks to billionaires.
A cadre of conscientious Congress members, however, introduced legislation yesterday that would permanently improve the Child Tax Credit. Remember the improved Child Tax Credit? The thing that helped lift 3 million children out of poverty during the pandemic and put money in the pockets of families so they could buy diapers, purchase food, pay rent, and do other things that families need to do for kids?
Some lawmakers are working to bring that back. The American Family Act, introduced yesterday by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), along with more than 200 cosponsors, would increase the amount of the credit to as much as $4,320 per child for young children and $3,600 for children ages 6-17. A $2,000 “baby bonus” could push the total credit to $6,360 in a child’s first year of life. The legislation also would allow families to receive the credit monthly — which is how most households pay bills. Among the bill’s most important provisions: The full credit would now reach the 17 million children currently excluded because their parents make too little to qualify (yes, you read that right).
The tax code offers one of the most effective ways to support America’s children and families. A new report from First Focus on Children finds that strengthening credits such as the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit would help families manage the rising prices all around us and better provide for their children. The report, titled Family Tax Policy, also notes that these reforms would benefit the U.S. economy. For example, the Niskanen Center found that extending the expanded Child Tax Credit for just one year would support the equivalent of 500,000 private-sector jobs.