Next year is going to see an epic showdown over tax policy. Many provisions of Republicans’ 2017 tax law are set to expire, and most people’s taxes will go up if Congress doesn’t step in.
Of special interest to parents, and to Republicans’ growing working-class base, will be how the final compromise treats marriage and children among the less well-off. Getting this right is the key to supporting families without forgetting the lessons of welfare reform.
The 2017 tax law doubled the child tax credit, making it now worth up to $2,000. Without congressional action, it will be halved again, though the old exemptions for dependents will also return.
The CTC is designed to refund parents’ income taxes and, for lower earners, reimburse some of their payroll-tax burden as well. It isn’t sent as a check to parents who don’t pay taxes at all, and it “phases out” for the extremely well-off.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the Washington Examiner
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Robert VerBruggen is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
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