As the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump have laid out competing economic visions for the country.
The presidential candidates are going head-to-head on a number of tax policy issues, including the expansion of a child tax credit. After Trump expanded the child tax credit in 2017 with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, families are now eligible for up to a $2,000 tax credit per child.
Both Harris and Trump have voiced support for boosting the child tax credit, which provides money to low- and middle-income families, even more.
Here is a closer look at where the candidates stand on the issue.
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Trump campaign
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is among a growing group of Republicans who support expanding the child tax credit.
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The Ohio Republican floated a proposal to enhance the child tax credit to $5,000 per child from the current $2,000 figure.
“I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child,” Vance said during a recent CBS interview. “But you, of course, have to work with Congress to see how possible and viable that is.”
He also hinted that he supports broadening the credit to all families, regardless of income level. Under current law, the tax credit phases out for single filers earning more than $200,000 and married couples with more than $400,000 in income.
“You don’t want a different policy for higher-income families,” Vance said. “You just want to have a pro-family child tax credit.”
Democrats criticized Vance for skipping a Senate vote on Aug. 1 that would have expanded the child tax credit and restored some Trump-era tax breaks for businesses. The bipartisan tax bill failed to clear the Senate, with a 48-44 vote.
A Trump campaign official told Semafor that the former president would consider a “significant expansion of the child tax credit that applies to American families.” The campaign did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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Harris campaign
Harris, the Democratic nominee, has proposed providing a $6,000 tax credit for parents of newborns. Families would receive the payment during their child’s first year.
“That is a vital, vital year of critical development of a child,” Harris said recently. “And the cost can really add up, especially for young parents who need to buy diapers and clothes and a car seat and so much else.”
She has also pitched bringing back the pandemic-era expanded child tax credit.
The boosted payout, authorized by President Biden with the passage of the American Rescue Plan, offered an annual payment of $3,000 for every child aged 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under age 6. Individuals earning less than $75,000 and married couples jointly making less than $150,000 were eligible for the boosted credit.
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About 39 million households, which accounted for about 88% of all children living in the U.S., received the monthly payments.
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