(The Center Square) – State and federal lawmakers from both parties are championing additional child tax credits.
A federal $2,000 tax credit for newborns to children aged 16 would drop to $1,000 per child at the end of the year if Congress doesn’t pass an extension, according to U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. The credit was expanded by Congress in 2021 using money from the American Rescue Plan Act, a move that helped 165,000 Georgia children, he said.
Warnock is sponsoring a bill that would raise the tax credit to $4,320 for children under the age of 6 and $3,000 for children ages 6-17. The bill also includes a “baby bonus,” $2,400 credit per newborn.
The bill is about attacking childhood poverty, Warnock said in a statement.
“Each of the parties wants to do a tax cut this year. Democrats and Republicans want to cut taxes,” Warnock said. “The difference is that they want to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires, and we want to cut taxes for hard-working moms and dads.”
More than 40 other Democrats sponsored the bill with Sens. Jon Ossoff, R-Ga., Margaret Wood Hassan, D-New Hampshire and John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado the only Democrats not listed as sponsors on the current form of the bill.
A bill passed by the Georgia General Assembly would give parents with children under the age of 6 a new $250 tax credit. Employers would also receive a $1,000 tax credit for any employee who receives a $1,000 child care benefit. The number would drop to $500 in subsequent years, according to the bill.
The Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare recommended House Bill 136.
“This legislation will ensure that Georgia’s workers have access to affordable and quality child care, while encouraging more businesses to offer child care,” Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said in a statement. “Child care is critical, not only for childhood development, but also for Georgia’s economy.”
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and received only four “no” votes in the House. It is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature.
