A new child tax credit program is working effectively in Hawaii, and some lawmakers want it to become permanent.
The child tax credit expansion is set to expire in December, KITV4 Island News reported.
“That part of the American Rescue Plan has raised millions of children and families out of poverty,” U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said last month. “I’d like to see that made permanent.”
The credit has jumped from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under age 6, and up to $3,000 for other children under age 18, according to KITV 4 Island News.
"The child tax credit that we fought for in the American Rescue Plan is truly transformative — providing real money for over 250,000 keiki in Hawaii. It’s time to make it permanent," Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele (D-Hawaii Island) wrote in a Sept. 9 Facebook post.
Democrats say the expansion will cut child poverty in half. President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan calls for extending the child tax relief for years to come, according to the White House. While the new child tax credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan is only for 2021, Biden says it's important that it is extended.
"If you didn’t make enough to be required to file taxes in 2020 or 2019, you can still get benefits. Low-income families with children are eligible for this crucial tax relief -- including those who have not made enough money to be required to file taxes," the White House website states.