Senate Passes Lincoln-Snowe Child Tax Credit Provision
Press Release
Senate Passes Lincoln-Snowe Child Tax Credit Provision
Provision would cover almost three million additional children in 2008
U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Olympia Snowe today announced that the U.S. Senate has passed their provision to ensure that more of America's low-income, hardworking families receive the benefit of the child tax credit. Their bipartisan measure was part of a tax extenders package that cleared the Senate Tuesday.
"America's lower-income, hardworking parents deserve all the assistance they can get raising a family in today's economic climate," Senator Lincoln said. "I am proud of the U.S. Senate's work to expand tax relief to full-time working parents who have been unfairly disqualified for the credit simply because their wages haven't kept up with inflation."
"Working families today are facing enormous challenges with increased financial pressure from rising health care costs, energy prices and even escalating grocery costs for their most basic needs. The consequences on inaction are serious for low-income Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck," said Senator Snowe. "It means that tens of thousands of low-income families will be completely ineligible for a credit they should receive. I am so pleased that the Senate today included this critical relief for struggling families in its bipartisan tax extenders legislation and call on my friends to quickly take up this legislation so we can finally enact into law this long overdue, common sense proposal."
When the child tax credit refundability law was written in 2003, it was indexed for inflation and as such has increased each year. Because the income threshold is tied to inflation, many low-income working parents no longer qualify for the refundable credit because their wages have fallen below the minimum income requirement. Current law dictates that families must meet an income threshold of $12,050 to be eligible for the refundable child tax credit in 2008.
Lincoln and Snowe's measure would correct inequities in the current law, which have prevented thousands of working families from receiving the credit due to inflation. Their provision sets the income requirement at $8,500 for 2008. Lincoln and Snowe noted that their provision would allow the refundable child tax credit to cover almost three million additional children in 2008.
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