Editor’s Note: There is a tendency in American media to associate issues of poverty with images of Black- and Brown-skinned persons, such as the Latino grandfather holdings his grandchild in the image accompanying this post. Because StayUp.News focuses on social issues in poor urban spaces, and our principal bases of operation are Baltimore, MD, and New York City, almost all of the images we own are of Black- and Brown-skinned persons, as we simply do not spend a lot of time in predominantly White spaces. As such, the image accompanying this post is not intended to racialize the idea of ‘low-income families,’ but is a reflection of the communities StayUp.News centralizes in its coverage.
StayUp.News editor-in-chief Roberto E. Alejandro recently sat down for a phone conversation with Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute‘s Senior Research Associate Elaine Maag, for a discussion about a new Young Child Tax Credit she has proposed alongside Urban Institute Senior Fellow Julia Isaacs.
The credit would go to families with children under five, and phase in at a rate of $0.50 for every dollar earned, beginning with a family’s first dollar of income (the current Child Tax Credit, which the Young Child Tax Credit would supplement, does not begin to phase in until the $3,001 dollar of income, and then at a rate of $0.15 for every dollar earned). Put another way, for every dollar earned, a family would be credited as though it paid $0.50 in taxes. That credit, under the proposal, would be refundable, so if, at the end of the year, the family has earned a credit higher than what they owe in income taxes, the family receives back the difference as a tax refund.
Press play above to learn more about how the proposed Young Child Tax Credit would work, and how it can help families with young children, who typically earn less than families with older children (h/t).
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