For years, Sen. Mike Lee has championed increases in the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as the most effective way to support middle- and lower-income Utah working families. Last month, as the Senate negotiated its first major tax bill in three decades, other Senators fought hard for their proposals, conditioning their votes on inclusion of their pet items.
But when push came to shove for Lee, he caved. He dropped the ball for Utah’s kids.
The Child Tax Credit is one of the federal government’s largest initiatives aimed at helping families with children. It’s especially important in Utah. The non-partisan Tax Foundation ranks Utah #1 in the nation both for the percent of tax filings claiming the credit and for the size of the credits that Utahns receive.
The tax bills passed by the House and Senate both include some increases in the CTC. But nothing in the House bill and next to nothing in the Senate bill help children in low- and moderate-income working families. If a family has income too low to owe any federal taxes, then they gain little or nothing under either bill. In contrast, the biggest gains go to upper-income families, those making up to $294,000 in the House bill and up to $500,000 in the Senate version. Until now, Congress considered families with income over $150,000 as too well off to need any Child Tax Credit at all!
So, for example, a single Utah mom working a full-time job at minimum wage as a home health aide, raising two children on her $14,500 annual salary, would gain nothing under the House bill and a stingy $75 under the Senate bill. 99,000 Utah kids live in families like hers—12% of all Utah kids.
Let’s move slightly up the income scale, to a salary of $24,000 for a married couple with two children. This family is right at the poverty line. Their income represents a typical salary for a starting firefighter, a median-wage security guard, or a better-paid retail employee. This family would gain $200 under both the House and Senate bills. 217,000 Utah kids live in families like this– about 18% of all Utah kids. How much does this annual savings of $200 help a family of four? Not much.
Meanwhile, let’s look at the same family of four, but this time with an annual income of $150,000-$500,000. Under the proposed bill, for the first time ever, this lucky family would receive the full $4,000 tax credit. Do you sense some unfairness here?
To their credit, Lee and his co-sponsor, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, offered an amendment to the Senate bill that would have made at least a small effort to lessen these inequities, this tilting of benefits towards the more affluent. The Rubio-Lee amendment would boost the refund received by the single mom described above to $494. It would boost the poverty-level married couple’s refund to $1,672. The more well-off family would still receive the full $4,000. The improvements in favor of lower and middle income families would be substantial enough to make some difference in the lives of children.
But Lee and Rubio both caved. During final negotiations in the Senate late last month, other senators withheld their support until their ideas were added to the bill. Lee and Rubio had tremendous bargaining power. Why didn’t they play hardball for Utah’s children? Why didn’t they demand inclusion of their amendment as the price of their vote?
Now, during the conference committee process, Rubio has shown some spine, announcing he won’t support the tax bill unless the Child Tax Credit increases substantially for everyone, including lower income kids. But Utah’s junior senator still says he’s undecided.
Sen. Lee, if you announce that your amendment must be included in the final bill, House and Senate leadership will have no choice but to meet your demand.
Here’s hoping that Lee will stand up for Utah children, especially those in families struggling to make their way out of poverty and into the middle class. Sen. Lee, your constituents — both children and parents — are counting on you.
Joanne Slotnik
Joanne Slotnik, an attorney and former executive director of the Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, now spends her time volunteering for Salt Lake Indivisible.