Campaigners and Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) lobby for a state Child Tax Credit at a news conference on Tuesday.
Tuesday, a group of Democratic lawmakers called for the creation of a state-level Child Tax Credit that would provide up to $700 in annual tax relief per kid to low- and middle-income families.
Permanent Child Tax Credit Proposal
Whether or not Gov. JB Pritzker would include such a plan in his budget proposal, which is slated to be released on February 15, and whether or not it will win the support of key Democratic leaders in the General Assembly is unknown.
Erion Malasi, director of policy and advocacy at Economic Security for Illinois, estimated the annual cost of the plan to be between $700 million and $800 million.
Senator Mike Simmons, a Democrat from Chicago, stated that the passage of this bill will help almost half of all Illinois children.
It puts money in the pockets of struggling parents across the state, he stated during a press conference at the Statehouse. And when we put money in the wallets of working parents, we know they can’t afford to save, so they’ll spend it on shoes for their children, delayed health care, and food for their teenagers who love to eat.
The state of Illinois currently distributes an earned income tax credit, or EITC, to individuals who satisfy specific income requirements, regardless of whether they have children. A Child Tax Credit would provide parents with an additional payout.
Similar to the EITC, the Child Tax Credit would be refundable, meaning that if the credit amount exceeded the taxpayer’s entire tax due, the excess amount would be returned to the taxpayer.
The proposal’s phrasing is included in Senate Bill 1444, which Simmons submitted on Tuesday. Individuals with incomes below $50,000 and married couples filing jointly with incomes below $75,000 would be eligible for a tax credit of $7,000 per kid under the proposed law.
For tax filers with earnings exceeding these restrictions, the credit amount would be reduced by $24 for every $1,000 in excess income.
At the news conference, Simmons was joined by other advocates of the proposal, including Sen. Robert Peters, also a Chicago Democrat, whose district includes some of the wealthiest and poorest ZIP codes in Illinois, according to Simmons.
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Challenging Plan For Illinois
He stated that no ZIP code should have this amount of inequity. This is an essential step for us to move away from income inequality and toward the notion that equity and equality are vital components of existence.
However, the plan comes at a difficult time for Illinois, and it may encounter opposition due to its anticipated annual cost.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget projects that state finances might begin running deficits as early as Fiscal Year 2025, despite the fact that the state has posted multibillion-dollar surpluses in each of the past two years.
In the meantime, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza has urged legislators against using the present surpluses to adopt new, permanent programs that would oblige the state to support them indefinitely.
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