Dear Editor,
The child tax credit is a popular topic of conversation these days. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. J.D. Vance have called for expansions of the CTC during the presidential election. There’s a good reason why. It works.
When Congress expanded the child tax credit in 2021 and sent it in monthly payments, struggling families finally got a financial breather. Groceries, health care, rent and child care all got a little easier to manage. Not to mention the payments cut child poverty by almost one-third. But Congress let the expanded CTC expire and families are again having a harder time and child poverty has increased.
The candidates know that expanding the child tax credit is both good policy and good politics. After decades of tax cuts for the rich, they know that everyday folks deserve a break. Expanding the CTC provides it.
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Reforming the tax code will be a big debate in Congress next year. Their first agenda item should be expanding the CTC to all families experiencing poverty.
In Vermont, an expanded child tax credit would lift 3,000 children above the poverty line and would further help the families of 96,000, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In a state with a 2023 population of 114,636 children under 18, this credit will make a significant difference for a majority of Vermont children.
Sen. Peter Welch supported the last version of the bill to expand the child tax credit while Sen. Sanders did not, believing the bill didn’t go far enough. Please join me in encouraging both Sen. Welch and Sen. Sanders to do all they can to pass an expanded CTC in the next Congress. As they both well know, the need is critical and we have a tool that works. Let’s use it.
Julia Russell
Charlotte
Julia Russell is a member of RESULTS Vermont. RESULTS is a nonpartisan citizens’ advocacy group that works to end poverty.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Julia Russell: An expanded child tax credit would benefit thousands of Vermonters.