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WSJ: Democrats Seek Temporary Expansion of Child Tax Credit, but Making It Permanent Is Real GoalBy Richard Rubin
Washington, D.C.,
March 3, 2021
Tags:
Tax Reform
WASHINGTON—Democrats are resorting to a well-worn tactic for their plan to expand the child tax credit: Push for a short-term policy, then highlight the consequences of letting it expire as scheduled. The expansion of the credit would send money to households, increasing the benefit to $3,000 a child from $2,000 while adding a $600 bonus for children under age 6. It is a key piece of the $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief plan that the House passed on Saturday and that the Senate will consider this week. Advocates say the bill would cut child poverty in half. But that larger credit is scheduled to last only through 2021, and its backers are already warning what will happen if it expires and urging a permanent extension. As with the 2001, 2003 and 2017 tax cuts, the plan’s Dec. 31 expiration date is driven partly by the constraints of budget reconciliation, the process Democrats are using to pass the bill without Republican support in the Senate. Reconciliation bills can’t increase deficits beyond a 10-year period. That rule often leads lawmakers to set expiration dates. The lawmakers who have been refining their child tax credit plan for years are preparing to turn to an extension soon. They include Mr. Bennet, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) and Rep. Suzan DelBene (D., Wash.) Click here to read the full article on WSJ. |