Some Connecticut lawmakers, along with advocates from the United Way of Connecticut, want to establish a $600 child tax credit for up to three children per family.
The plan would phase in at $150 per child and work its way up.
“I think given our current climate, getting a child tax credit on the books is the most important thing,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven), testifying at a public hearing Wednesday. “I think it will have to be phased in over a period of time given our fiscal situation, but establishing it with a schedule to reach full implementation is a realistic and pragmatic way to go.”
Looney said the previous, one-time child tax credit the state implemented during the pandemic was “transformative” and that, combined with the state-earned income tax credit, it could work miracles to raise families out of poverty.
“It's the government investing in you to give you a little bit of help,” House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “It’s not a handout but to give you help and assistance as you raise your families, which with inflation becomes more difficult. If you look at what's happening in Washington, they're thinking the exact opposite. Instead of providing credits and help to families who are trying to raise two young children, they're gonna provide tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.”
State Representative Kate Farrar (D-West Hartford) said too many families are struggling to make ends meet, and the state is falling behind in their effort to support them.
“Right now, we are the only high-cost state in the nation that has a personal income tax that does not adjust for a number of children or childcare expenses,” she said. “It means we’re at a competitive disadvantage when we look at our neighboring states.”
Farrar said that every dollar of a child tax credit can put $1.38 back into the local economy.
“I think it really is an economic generator because it empowers lower-income people to have more money to spend to put back into the economy where they are, in fact, paying taxes,” Looney said.
United Way of Connecticut President Lisa Tepper Bates said more than 60 organizations in the state are working towards implementing a child tax credit.
