Expand Maryland’s child tax credit

We all watched how the federal child tax credit reduced American childhood poverty by 40% in

2021. Now, Gov. Wes Moore hopes to expand the child tax credit in Maryland (“As Maryland Gov. Wes Moore lobbies for his 10 bills, legislators amend, combine and slash at his priorities,” March 24).

The Family Prosperity Act is currently making its way through the Maryland General Assembly (House Bill 547 and Senate Bill 552). It is not enough. The Family Prosperity Act puts the larger share of its funding toward the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Yet the EITC leaves the very poorest of poor families behind.

Nate Golden, president of the Maryland Child Alliance, points out that grandparents raising grandkids can be older and frailer and less able to work. Linking tax credits to work means kids whose relatives cannot work will continue to struggle in poverty. The child tax credit portion of the bill would expand the credit to families earning $15,000 or less, thus including more families than the current law. Still, it is a tax credit, meaning that if the family does not file taxes, those poorest of the poor children will receive no benefit.

The District of Columbia is currently considering — and apparently likely to pass — a child tax credit of $500 for each child under age 17 which phases out the higher the family’s income. According to Policy Engine, this proposed bill would cut child poverty by 5%. While not as powerful as the 2021 federal child tax credit, it’s better than the Maryland proposal.

Delegates and senators, please remember how well the 2021 fully refundable federal child tax credit worked? Let’s enact a universal child benefit payable directly to families so every child has a chance!