Bill > AR93

Introduced Session

This resolution urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation permanently reinstating the amount of the federal child income tax credit as provided for in tax year 2021. Doing so would allow eligible taxpayers to claim a $3,000 credit for each qualifying child under age 17 and a $3,600 credit for each qualifying child under age six. While the birth of a child is a joyous occasion, the decision to expand one's family comes with a significant increase in household costs. Recent studies have found that the average annual cost of providing for a child in the United States is $20,813 with New Jersey residents paying anywhere from $2,000 to $11,000 more in childcare, food, and housing costs. High levels of inflation have only made it more difficult for families to raise a child and ensure that their household is financially secure. To help ease the financial burden that families face when raising children, the federal government established the child tax credit, which currently allows an eligible taxpayer to reduce their federal income tax liability by up to $2,000 per eligible child up to 16 years of age. The "American Rescue Plan Act" passed by Congress in 2021 temporarily increased the maximum age for an eligible child from 16 to 17 years of age while also increasing the amount of the credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for taxpayers with children under age 6 and from $2,000 to $3,000 for taxpayers with children ages 6 to 17. However, these changes only applied to tax year 2021 which means that for tax year 2022, taxpayers with qualifying children experienced a reduction in the credit of between $1,000 and $1,600, depending on the age of their child, and one less year to claim the credit with the age of a qualifying child reduced from 17 to 16 years of age. Despite evidence that the expansion of the federal child tax credit in 2021 helped to reduce child poverty, proposals to restore the 2021 credit amounts have failed to receive approval with another credit reduction due to occur at the end of tax year 2025. If the President and Congress do not act before that time, the credit will be cut in half and return to the $1,000 amount it was set at prior to passage of the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" in 2017. Recently, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives are planning to convene a subcommittee to work on issues related to the federal child tax credit in an attempt to build consensus around measures that could be paired with an increase in the credit. Disagreements in Congress regarding an increase in the credit have centered around the imposition of work requirements and the costs of an expansion. In light of this impasse, both the President and Congress should make every effort to come to a consensus on reinstating the amount of the federal child tax credit to tax year 2021 levels to ensure that families continue to receive sufficient financial support for tax year 2025 and beyond.

AI Summary

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Aura Dunn (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document