- More than 93% of children will receive benefits as a result of a measure in Biden’s stimulus package.
- The child benefit will give parents up to $ 300 monthly checks for a year.
- Biden and Democrats have voiced their support for making the measure permanent.
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More than 93% of children receive benefits as part of President Joe Biden’s stimulus package, reports The New York Times.
Biden’s $ 1.9 billion package was approved by the Senate over the weekend. The policy is currently being drafted as an extension of a tax credit that already applies, but it will now work as a direct payment for families with children.
At the moment, it is only a one-year policy in the bill, but Biden and Democrats have expressed their support for making it a permanent policy.
“The president is interested in exploring options to make the tax credit for children permanent as part of the ‘Build Back Better’ agenda,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week. “He welcomes dual support for ideas like this, including from Republicans like Senator Romney.”
At present, the children’s tax credit is $ 2,000 for each child under 17. Parents can claim it only on their taxes, reports CNET.
The policy in the stimulus gives $ 3,600 to parents of children 5 years and younger and $ 3,000 to those with children between 6 and 17 years old.
Instead of getting the full amount on their taxes, parents can now receive monthly checks.
That would be $ 300 monthly checks for younger than 5 and $ 250 for older people. Individuals earning $ 75,000 or less and couples earning up to $ 150,000 receive a full check.
With the measure, parents can get monthly checks instead of the total amount at tax time. According to The Times, 69 million children would receive benefits, or 93% of children, while at present only 25% of children receive a partial benefit, while the poorest 10% receive nothing.
Some projections, such as those from Columbia University’s Center for Poverty and Social Policy, have found that monthly payments can reduce child poverty by 45%. For black children, the rate will be reduced by more than 50%.
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, this expansion would cost more than $ 100 billion for one year. If made permanently, it would cost more than $ 1 trillion in ten years.