Do the right thing on tax credit

To the editor:

Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a tax package that includes a temporary expansion of the child tax credit, and restores a number of business tax benefits.

The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that, by 2025, some 500,000 children will be lifted out of poverty, and another 3 million will be less poor when the child tax credit is in effect.

This child tax credit should be of great interest to residents across the Bronx, including greater Riverdale. The CTC certainly will help many low-income Bronx families considering that state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reported the borough poverty rate was more than 24 percent at the end of 2022.

Additionally, wealthier families will also qualify for the credit for each qualifying child if they meet eligibility factors and have an income less than $200,000, or $400,000 filing jointly.

Overall, that adds up to a lot of our Bronx neighbors.

The House did the right thing. Now it’s up to the U.S. Senate to pass a companion bill and send it to the president.

What’s the holdup? In some quarters, there is a fear that the CTC dis-incentivizes employment. Columbia University research, however, has shown that raising the child tax credit results in long-term gains in earnings, improvement in health, longevity and infant mortality, and reductions in criminal justice and welfare interactions.

And, most importantly, people don’t stop working.

Everyone here and across New York state should contact U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and urge him to get the bill across the finish line — up to and including calling for cloture to force a vote and get senators on the record for who does and does not support American families.

Lois Harr