The 2024 Presidential Campaign is just a few months away, and Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed the child tax credit expansion plan in the recent presidential debate. The proposal has gained the spotlight, let’s see what the whole proposal is about and how it will impact society.
Kamala Harris Child Tax Credit
In the recent Presidential debate, Harris proposed many tax policies which include CTC expansion for newborn parents around $6000, whereas the Republicans proposed a $5000 expansion. According to the plan, the Democrats intend to cover the cost of raising a kid and pulling children out of poverty with their support to newborn parents.
The proposed child tax credit will bring back the generous amount that people received during the 2021 pandemic under the American Rescue plan. Harris has mentioned that the key part of the proposal is to restore the 2021 CTC and positively impact society. At present, the CTC recipients receive $2000 credit for each eligible child.
During the 2021 Child tax credit, US families have received the maximum boost to CTC around $3600 per child (under 6 years of age); the rescue plan ends in 2022. The child tax credit is one of the popular benefits among the US people as it helps them with their child-raising costs. The expansion of the credit is a good effort to attract voters for the November presidential election.
Who will be eligible for the Kamala Harris proposed Child Tax Credit?
According to Kamala Harris’s proposed plan for the Child tax credit expansion, newborn parents would be eligible to receive the child tax credit of $6000 for the first year of their newborn life. For instance, low-income families who will have a new addition to their family in 2025 would be eligible to receive the CTC expansion benefit if the democratic wins the elections.
Kamala Harris hasn’t disclosed the detailed information on the plan, so the full eligibility requirements are still in question. However, one thing is clear with the proposed plan, it will be aimed at newborn parents from low-income families.
The income limit for the proposed CTC is still debatable as the biggest question will be how the plan will cover the people who need support as the current CTC income limit lies under $200,000 ($400,000 for couples).
What’s stored in for the existing CTC recipient in the proposed credit?
The Harris plan on Child tax credit may include the existing CTC recipients as they plan to restore the 2021 America Rescue plan CTC. The expanded CTC may bring the CTC expansion for children under 6 years of age and children older than six just like the 2021 expansion.
As Harris did not explain the plan deeply, it is just speculation for the non-newborn children’s credit expansion. However, Harris plans to expand the tax policies to support lower-income families and taxpayers who do not claim children in their tax returns and changes in EITC to support the families and ensure proper child development and growth with greater facilities.
What’s the Republicans plan for the CTC expansion?
Both the parties, Republicans and Democrats understand the need to expand the CTC, especially for low-income families dealing with the rising cost of living, however, their plans differ. The Republican Vice President nominee Vance has countered the Harris plan with a $5000 boost to CTC.
The child tax credit was raised to $2000 by the Trump government through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Vance says the Republicans always consider or support the expansion of CTC. The Republicans also didn’t get into the details of their proposed plans except they may plan to expand the CTC for certain or all American families.
Kamala Harris Child Tax Credit Impact
The Kamala Harris proposed Child tax credit expansion may impact society in a good way as the 2021 expansion did reduce the rate of child poverty by 30% for millions of children. Many lawmakers suggest the best way to deal with the income education gap that rises due to a lack of income can be reduced through supporting lower-income families with children.
Some policymakers claim the 2021 plan has barely supported the families to cover their child expenses, still, some reports suggest the credit helps people with housing instability, hunger, and children’s education expenses.
The proposed plans will also impact the economy as it may cost the government $1.6 to $2 trillion in a decade.
However, the impact of the expansion can be analyzed by the way the expansion will be designed to cover the gap in the 2021 rescue plan while restoring the plan and support low-income families with CTC.
The Presidential election is just around the corner, and the CTC expansion to $6000 for newborn parents proposed by Kamala Harris in the Presidential debate is the highlight of the debate, however, the Republican’s plans include a $5000 expansion to CTC.