The expanded child tax credit may have expired at the federal level, but some states are pursuing legislation for new tax breaks and tax credits. A tax credit bill has just been signed into law in one of the reddest states in the country.
According to WTVM, Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama signed House Bill 231, which will provide relief to families who have received the Child Tax Credit.
“I’m proud to sign HB231 into law so the money gets right back into the hands of hard-working Alabamians. I commend the AL Legislature for their work on this and look forward to it benefiting AL families this tax season,” Governor Ivey said. wrote after signing the invoice.
Ivey’s office, according to the report, says the new law will save families across the state tens of millions of dollars.
The new law is effective for the tax year that ended in 2021. According to the announcement from the governor’s office, the new law “allows individual taxpayers to calculate their federal income tax deduction without take into account certain elements authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act”. .”
The Alabama Department of Revenue also released an information page explaining how the new law will work for residents of the state.
What about the federal credit?
The federal child tax credit expired in December when the Build Back Better legislative package failed to pass the Senate. Although Build Back Better and the one-year extension of the child tax credit it would have funded may be blocked, some senators have still made efforts to revive the credit. Many lawmakers cite a recent Center on Poverty and Social Policy study that found an additional 3.7 million children were in poverty in January, the first month after the credit expired. However, it’s unclear whether the child tax credit has a stimulus route to Congress.
In an interview with Yahoo finance this week, economist Joe Brusuelas called the relaunch of the child tax credit a “good idea”.
“It’s a proven program and…it’s a tested and ready program. We put it in place during the pandemic. And essentially what it did was it targeted households with children. The plan was written so broadly that it actually hit 95% of all households with children, monthly checks for six months, and then a tax credit for the other six months,” Brusuelas said in the interview.
“So when we looked at that, what we saw was that it was a program that was actually used to buy basic necessities, not necessarily luxuries. And it ‘is what you want to see in times of stress,” he added. “I think it’s a proven way to provide direct assistance to targeted households in need, those with children who, in turn, spend it on food, fuel, clothing and shelter.”
Stephen Silver, technology editor for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who also contributes to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and connect today. Co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
Picture: Reuters.
