The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing aticles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
Lawmakers in Washington are likely to have a lot of their plates this summer — gun violence, abortion rights, voting rights. To help millions of American families, they can also take the simple step of reinstating the expanded child tax credit that Congress allowed to expire at the end of last year.
In Maine, nearly two-thirds of households with children qualified for the expanded credit, which was significantly above the national average, according to a recent survey.
The benefits of the tax credit generally went to low- and moderate-income families. The expanded credit, which was part of the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress last year, is credited with significantly reducing child poverty.
According to researchers at Columbia University, child poverty increased 41 percent a month after the expanded credit expired. That’s a high cost for children to pay for congressional inaction.
The rescue bill increased the existing child tax credit for 2021 from $2,000 to $3,000 for children over six. For children under six, the credit was $3,600. For the first time, the credits of up to $300 a month were available on a monthly basis from July to December 2021 rather than a lump sum when tax returns are filed.
Recent surveys and analysis found that families primarily used the additional funds to pay off debt and to buy food and utilities. Many Americans are being squeezed by record high fuel prices, rising food and housing costs and other inflationary pressures. The impacts are felt most acutely by those with low incomes. The expanded child tax credit put money into the hands of parents who quickly spent on daily living expenses.
Research shows that such financial support can have long-lasting impacts on children. A recent study found that giving money on a monthly basis to new mothers experiencing poverty may change their child’s brain activity in the first year of life. These changes were associated with better language, cognitive and social-emotional development later in life.
Advocates of the credit have put it in the spotlight as members of Congress debate an upcoming spending bill.
“To pass a reconciliation bill without including a permanent and fully refundable Child Tax Credit would be morally indefensible,” a group of religious leaders wrote in a letter to every member of Congress, which is featured in a national advertising campaign.
One problem with the child tax credit is that many of the lowest-income families are not claiming it because they do not file taxes. In Maine, for example, less than half of families earning less than $25,000 a year reported receiving the child tax credit payments.
In addition to resuming the expanded credit, Congress should ensure that these families are included in the program and that there is funding for outreach to help them understand the need to file a tax return to get the credit, even if they do not owe federal income taxes. In Maine, there is free help with income tax filings for low-income individuals, but more could be done to ensure families are aware of the child tax credit and how to obtain it.
Resuming the expanded child credit is an important step that Congress can take now to help low- and moderate-income families weather these challenging economic times.
