Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York on Monday proposed an expansion to the state’s child tax credit that would more than double what some families currently receive.
The plan, the second in a series of proposals the governor is expected to roll out before her State of the State address next week, would give eligible families a tax credit of up to $1,000 per child under the age of 4. Each child from the age of 4 to 16 will qualify families to receive up to a $500 tax break per child.
In recent years, the state has offered up to $330 per child for the poorest New York families. This move from Ms. Hochul follows an increased emphasis on highlighting how her administration is trying to make an expensive state more affordable.
Frustration with the high cost of living surfaced among voters in the 2024 elections, and many Democrats, amid soul searching about Republican victories, said they should have talked more about addressing affordability.
Both Ms. Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City have already announced tax cuts or refunds they want the Legislature to adopt. Mr. Adams’s proposal would eliminate New York City income taxes for more than 400,000 of the lowest-wage earners. Ms. Hochul wants to spend about $3 billion to send checks between $300 and $500 to roughly 8.6 million New Yorkers, using money from sales tax revenue.
“I’m on your side,” Ms. Hochul said last month — apparently aware of Democrats’ and her own vulnerability when it comes to the cost of living in New York State.
“I believe that this extra inflation-driven sales tax revenue should not be spent by the state,” she added. “It is your money, and it should be back in your pockets.”
The state has spent billions in recent years on child care and to make more families eligible for subsidies. Tax credits like the one Ms. Hochul proposed have proved popular and effective in the past. During the early years of the coronavirus pandemic, an expansion of the federal child tax credit led to dramatic reductions in adolescent poverty.
This expansion then expired and bipartisan efforts to bring it back failed.
Ms. Hochul’s proposal would support more than 2.75 million children in the state; families earning up to $170,000 a year are eligible for the credit.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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