Forget the Flowers This Mother’s Day. Give Moms Tax Credits
By Ali Mickelson
Moms hold a special place in our families and in our society. Our moms are the caregivers, the problem-solvers, the boo-boo kissers, and the boogie-man chasers. They are nurturers and providers (and maybe the kick in the butt we need every once in a while, too). Moms are the cornerstone of Colorado’s diverse communities. But there are also thousands of moms across racial and ethnic lines who give their all and still find it hard to make ends meet. For too many Colorado moms and their families, it keeps getting more and more difficult to put a roof over their families’ heads, afford health and child care, and meet other basic needs.
Fortunately, programs like the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit (CTC) are there to help. The EITC and CTC use the tax code to help hardworking families. By employing refundable tax credits, they increase incomes for families and can lift them out of poverty altogether. Research shows the EITC and the CTC are two of the country’s leading anti-poverty programs.
The income boost provided by these credits contributes to higher earnings for families, but research has shown the EITC and CTC can also produce better health outcomes, increased academic performance for kids, and even higher earnings later in life. The EITC and CTC are continually documented as policies that change the lives of mothers and children in our communities. That’s one reason why US Senators Sherrod Brown, Michael Bennet, Dick Durbin, and Ron Wyden have introduced the Working Families Relief Act, which would expand these critical programs.
Specifically, the bill would:
- Increase the EITC for families with children by roughly 25 percent
- Substantially increase the EITC for workers not raising children and lower the eligibility age to 19
- Make the full $2,000 CTC available to all low- and moderate-income families;
- Create a new Young Child Tax Credit that would provide families with children under 6 years old an extra $1,000 per child (for a total of $3,000 per child)
- Make the CTC equally accessible to families in Puerto Rico while also expanding Puerto Rico’s EITC
Nationwide, these improvements to the EITC and CTC would boost the financial security of 46 million households and 114 million people, including 8 million Black families, 9 million Latinx families, and 2 million Asian American families, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The bill would also cut child poverty nationally by 28 percent, lifting 3.1 million children out of poverty and making another 7.7 million children less poor.
The Working Families Tax Relief Act would help moms in every state, including an estimated 361,000 mothers in Colorado. That translates to more than 780,000 Colorado kids.
This Mother’s Day, lets reflect on how important mothers are in our lives. Every mother deserves the support they need to care for their families and put their children on a path to success. So right after you call your mom (you have already called your mom, right? We’ll wait…) contact your members of Congress and tell them to pass the Working Families Tax Relief Act.
