John,
This month, the parents of 61 million children received cash payments through the expanded Child Tax Credit, helping them buy school supplies, pay rent, and cover out-of-pocket medical expenses.[1] This expanded version of the CTC is reaching more people than ever before and cutting child poverty by 45%.[2]
Unfortunately, this expanded CTC expires at the end of this year, unless Congress acts. For too long, anti-tax conservatives have claimed that we can’t afford to make investments in our children. That’s false, pure and simple. Our latest billionaires report found that during the first 17 months of the pandemic, the total wealth of just 708 billionaires increased by an astonishing $1.8 trillion, or by 62%.[3] That’s four times MORE than the cost of providing families with the expanded CTC over the next four years,[4] which will reduce childhood poverty by nearly one-half.
We have a chance to make the Child Tax Credit expansion permanent through budget reconciliation paid for by taxing the wealthy and corporations―and Congress is crafting that budget right now.
Read Frank’s email below for more details, then sign the petition to Congress today. Tell them to make the expanded CTC permanent, and that we can pay for it by making the rich and corporations pay their fair share >>>
Thank you,
Sarah Christopherson
Legislative and Policy Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] “August child tax credit payments reach roughly 61 million kids,” CNN, August 13, 2021
[2] “New child tax credit could slash poverty now and boost social mobility later,” Brookings, March 11, 2021
[3] “American billionaires got 62% richer during the pandemic – almost all that wealth growth will go income-tax free, showing need for Biden’s tax reforms & investment plans,” Americans for Tax Fairness, August 24, 2021
[4] ”General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals,” Department of the Treasury, May 2021
-- Frank's email --
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Tell Congress:
“Cut child poverty in half by making the expansion of the Child Tax Credit permanent.”
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John,
Today, 11 million children in the U.S. live in poverty. That’s 1 out of every 7 children nationwide.[1]
Thankfully, help is on the way.
When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, he enacted an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, ensuring more than 90% of children are now covered by the CTC. Last month, millions of families started receiving monthly payments of $300 per child under 6 years old and $250 per child between the ages of 6 and 17.
Over the next year, the expanded Child Tax Credit will cut child poverty nearly in half.[2] But the expansion only lasts one year.
Through the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill being negotiated right now, Congress should make the Child Tax Credit expansion permanent, lifting millions of children out of poverty and setting kids on a path to a more prosperous future. We can make this critical investment when the rich and corporations start paying their fair share in taxes!
Our allies at More Perfect Union have produced a new video highlighting how these monthly cash payments can make all the difference in the lives of working families. Click here to watch the video and then sign the petition to Congress to make the Child Tax Credit permanent in the upcoming $3.5 trillion budget!
Right now, families making up to $150,000 will receive a full, refundable tax credit worth $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17 years old and $3,600 for children under 6. Refundable means you will get the financial support whether you pay federal income taxes or not. But this expansion of the CTC, which allows critical cash payments to reach more families, only runs through December 2021.[3]
Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and our allies in demanding Congress make the Child Tax Credit permanent. Sign the petition today!
We have an opportunity before us that we cannot let pass us by. Thank you for fighting for a future that includes all of us.
Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] "The Basic Facts About Children in Poverty," Center for American Progress Report, 2021
[2] “Can monthly cash payments cut child poverty by nearly half?” AP, May 19, 2021.
[3] “5 smart ways to use your upcoming child tax credit payments to get ahead,” CNBC, June 18, 2021
