Lawmakers Move to Expand Child Tax Credit to Hurricane Katrina Families
Lawmakers Move to Expand Child Tax Credit to Hurricane Katrina Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representatives Charles B. Rangel (NY-15) and Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today said the refundable Child Tax Credit should be extended to Gulf Coast families victimized by Hurricane Katrina. The senior lawmakers introduced companion legislation to a measure offered in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL).
"Expanding the Child Tax Credit in the Gulf Region will help give families a foundation upon which they can build a brighter future," said Ways and Means Ranking Member Charles B. Rangel. "This bill is a critical step towards keeping Congress' promise to help the victims of last year's hurricanes.
"Gulf Coast families are just beginning to rebuild their lives after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina," said DeLauro. "For these hardworking families, who have faced so much hardship in the last few months, expanding the Child Tax Credit is more than common sense tax policy it is the right thing to do as legislators, as Americans."
The Relief for Working Family Victims of Hurricane Katrina Act of 2006 will temporarily expand relief to these working families by allowing them to earn the credit beginning with their first dollar of income. The bill allows them to claim a per child credit (up to $1,000) of 10% of their income. Families who would fare better under the current system can choose to compute their credit based either on the current system or under the new provisions in the bill.
The Child Tax Credit was enacted as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Under current law, however, only families earning more than $11,000 are eligible for the refundable credit, and only families earning more than $18,000 in a year are eligible for the full $1,000 refund. As a result, many families whose wage earners lost their jobs after the hurricane - and may have diminished earned income in 2006 and possibly for years to come - will not be eligible for the credit that they would have received were it not for the hurricane. Even before Hurricane Katrina hit, nearly one million children living in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama received less than the full credit amount.
http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/February/child_tax_credit_2_8_06.html