Washington, D.C. – Ahead of tax day and the IRS Commissioner’s annual appearance before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives today, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led 44 senators in introducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act.
At a time when wages are stagnant and the cost of childcare is skyrocketing, the Working Families Tax Relief Act would cut taxes for workers and families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). EITC and CTC are effective tools to put money in the pockets of working people and lift children out of poverty. Expanding them will give millions more Americans a foothold in the middle class.
In Colorado, this legislation would benefit 748,000 households, 1,821,000 individuals, and 781,000 children.
“We’ve had 40 years when almost all economic growth has gone to the very top, and 9 out of 10 Americans have seen very little benefit,” Bennet said. “Wages aren’t rising enough for most families to afford some combination of housing, healthcare, child care, or higher education. We need to rewrite the tax code in a way that benefits working families – and expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit is an effective path to achieve that.”
“All across the country, families are working harder than ever but have less and less to show for it,” Brown said. “Corporate profits have soared, executive compensation has exploded, but wages are flat. Meanwhile the cost of everything from healthcare to education and housing is up. Our bill would help put more money back in the pockets of working families and set children up for future success.”
As Americans file taxes this month, more of them are seeing the President and Republican’s tax law for what it is—a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. The Working Families Tax Relief Act changes course to instead cut taxes for workers and families.
The Working Families Tax Relief Act would:
- Boost the incomes of 46 million households and 114 million people, including 43 million children.
- Lift 7 million people out of poverty, including 3 million children.
- Expand the EITC for families with children by about 25 percent.
- Significantly expand the EITC for workers without children and make the credit available for people starting at age 19 up to age 67. Currently, workers without children can be pulled under the poverty line by taxes. Expanding the EITC for childless workers would fix that.
- Make the CTC fully refundable, so the more than 26 million children who were left out of the Trump tax law get the support they deserve.
- Create a Young Child Tax Credit to provide extra support to children five and under, when research says they need it most.
- Allow workers to draw a $500 advance payment on their EITC so that families aren’t forced to turn to predatory payday lenders when the car breaks down or other unexpected expenses come up.
The bill text is available HERE. A fact sheet is available HERE.