Toward the end of 2015, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced a new bill to modernize the child tax credit for low- and middle-income families. The Child Tax Credit Improvement Act (S. 2264) would index the credit to inflation, triple the value of the credit for families with young children, and enable families to receive a larger refund from the credit on their tax returns.
More than 38 million American families benefit every year from the Child Tax Credit (CTC). While the CTC has had a positive impact on families since its creation in 1997, CTC’s maximum value of $1,000 per child has remained flat since 2004. Senator Bennet’s new family tax bill calls for annually indexing the Child Tax Credit for nearly all lower- and middle-income families. That would have a very positive long-term impact on families with children. Most federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare, are annually indexed for inflation – it’s time for families raising children to receive the same treatment.
The Child Tax Credit Improvement Act would also increase the CTC for families with young children. The bill triples the credit up to $3,000 for parents with children under the age of 6. Many American families, especially families with other young children, experience financial hardship as they transition into being parents. New parents face increased costs to provide their children with, food, child care and education. Senator Bennet’s bill would greatly help families with young children.
The bill also enables taxpayers to receive the refundable portion of the child tax credit for every dollar earned and eliminates any earnings threshold to allow all working parents to take advantage of the credit.
The Child Tax Credit Improvement Act would greatly help low-income and middle-income families raising children in America. Congress needs to strongly consider Senator Bennet’s bill.
Why the Child Tax Credit should be indexed: http://bit.ly/1UD78wK v/ @Campaign4Kids #InvestInKids
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