NEW YORK (PIX11) — Families in New York could receive a child tax credit every three months under a bill receiving support by lawmakers across the state.
Councilmember Alexa Avilés introduced a resolution Thursday supporting bills by state lawmakers to bring back a child tax credit. She was joined at a rally by State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored a bill in the state senate. Under his bill, there would be a working families tax credit of $1,500 per child.
“The expanded federal tax credit was a huge boost for millions of families, but Congress failed to renew it,” Gounardes tweeted Tuesday. “NYS can step in & fill the gap by passing my Working Families Tax Credit – $1500 per child prepaid 4x yearly to give families a needed safety net to buy their necessities.”
The bill calls for quarterly payments of the credit, with a sliding reduction of the credit based on income. A bill with the same language has been sponsored in the State Assembly by Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi.
A nationwide child tax credit was originally offered through President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. It contributed to a 46% decline in child poverty since 2020, according to a September 2022 report from the Census Bureau. The child tax credit ended more than a year ago; families got their last checks in December of 2021.
In New York City, the federal credit reduced the child poverty rate by more than 30% in 2021, nonprofit Robin Hood found in a report released Tuesday in conjunction with Columbia University. Around 120,000 children were prevented from falling into poverty because of the credit.
