Victory for Low Income Children! Sen. Baucus Supports Expanded CTC!
In order to start cutting poverty in half, one of Half in Ten’s first priorities is to expand the Child Tax Credit to help millions of poor children in America. Current law denies the CTC to millions of poor children and their families simply because they earn too little to owe federal income tax. The House has approved H.R. 6049, expanding the CTC, and now it’s time for the Senate to do the same and help millions of children.
Learn More about Expanding the CTC
Over 1,300 activists signed this petition to urge Sen. Baucus to expand the Child Tax Credit to families making $8,500 per year. On July 25, along with Majority Leader Reid, Sen. Baucus introduced a tax bill with this expansion of the CTC. Thanks for all your help!
Dear Chairman Baucus,
I strongly urge
you to support improvements in the Child Tax Credit to help more poor children and their families. During these tough economic times, helping our lowest-income families should be a top priority. However, millions of poor children and their families continue to be denied the CTC because they are too poor. By lowering the minimum earnings required to receive the credit to $8,500 for 2008, from the current $12,050, and ending annual increases in required earnings, the families of more than 13 million children will become newly eligible to receive the credit or receive an increased amount.
Millions of children are excluded or short-changed by the existing Child Tax Credit. As you continue to work on legislation to extend tax benefits, we strongly urge
you to support:
Expanding eligibility for the Child Tax Credit to families with earnings of $8,500;
and Ending the annual increases in required earnings that are depriving millions of poor children and families of this badly needed help.
*This petition is no longer active.
About Expanding the CTC
The approved House bill, H.R. 6049, lowers the minimum required earnings from the current $12,050 to $8,500 for 2008. This improvement allows the families of more than 13 million children to become newly eligible to receive the credit or receive an increased amount compared with current law.
In the Senate, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) has introduced a substitute bill, S. 3125, that sets the minimum earnings threshold to receive the CTC at $10,000 rather than the House’s $8,500. Excluding the poorer families was done to pay for various tax breaks for businesses. If the Senate agrees to the House level of $8,500, Senators could
help over 1.5 million more low-income children who would otherwise either be left out entirely or whose families would receive a smaller refund. The parents of these children work hard in low-paying jobs. Additionally, large numbers of African-American and Latino children are denied the credit because of their parents’ below-poverty wages.
Also, current law actually raises the minimum required earnings each year to match the inflation rate. Since the CTC became available to working poor families in 2001, the minimum earnings has risen from $10,000 to $12,050. This is despite the fact that many low-earning families have not seen their wages rise. The Senate needs to end the annual increases in required earnings that are depriving millions of poor children and families of this badly needed help.
