The Biden administration is pointing to funds still available to recipients of the enhanced Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that have not yet been collected, as it struggles to pass its Build Back Better Act that would extend those tax breaks this year.
During an online event Tuesday dubbed the White House Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit Day of Action, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and economic advisor Gene Sperling to talk about the undistributed money that taxpayers can still claim this filing season.
“Our message today is simple,” said Harris. “If you are eligible for the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, we want you to get those credits. And you know why: Working families deserve a break.”
She noted that she and President Joe Biden fought to expand the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit as part of the American Rescue Plan they passed last year.
“The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit and extended it to millions more families,” said Harris. “And the American Rescue Plan also nearly tripled the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit and made it available to workers between 19 and 24 years of age, as well as to workers 65 years old and above. These tax credits are already making a difference. In fact, thanks to the Child Tax Credit, we are on a path to cut child poverty in America by 40%.”
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She encouraged families to file their taxes to claim the benefits, even if they already received advance payments of the CTC, because there is likely to be additional money available. “If you are one of the more than 30 million families who have already received the Child Tax Credit, you still need to file your taxes,” said Harris. “So that is the only way to receive the second half of what you are owed. So, remember: You are owed more, but you still need to file your taxes.”
Harris urged state and local governments to send out texts to remind people of what they are entitled to receive, as well as faith-based organizations to spread the word at houses of worship, along with community groups to help people file their taxes. She said she would keep fighting to extend the tax breaks. However, the Build Back Better Act remains stalled in the evenly divided Senate.
Yellen also encouraged taxpayers to apply for the funds available with the tax credits. “We had very high hopes for these policies, but as you’ve heard, the results lived up to even our most ambitious expectations,” she said. “The last year witnessed the largest drop in child poverty in American history. After the first monthly CTC credit went out, food instability among low-income families with children dropped 43%. You could even see a nationwide sigh of relief in the data: 70% of caregivers reported that they were less stressed about making ends meet.”
Like Harris, she encouraged taxpayers to file their taxes to claim the rest of the tax funds they’re entitled to receive. “There’s still so much money on the table,” said Yellen. “I think there’s a common notion — and it’s an understandable one — that once Congress passes a big relief package like the American Rescue Plan, the rest is almost automatic. The biggest hurdle is getting a bill to the president’s desk. The rest is easy. The truth, though, is that the machinery of government is complicated. It’s rusty in some places, and it was not designed to do exactly this.”
Many taxpayers have yet to receive any of the funds they are due. “Right now, the best way — really the only way — to get people this money is for them to file their taxes," said Yellen. "I know what a challenge that will be. Filing taxes can be hard, and we’re talking about some of the hardest-to-reach people in this country, people to whom the government has far too often been blind … but who your organizations excel at serving. Your knowledge, your experience is what’s required right now, and I can promise you that the U.S. Treasury will provide you with every resource we have to help you do the job.”
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