ABC Coalition Members Call on Congress to Prioritize Tax Breaks for Families and Children

April 1, 2022 (Washington, DC)—Across the country, families are struggling to afford the rising costs of basic necessities while corporations lay claim to record profits. Despite this, Congress is actively exploring tax breaks for these corporations, while failing to prioritize much needed support for families with children. 

Today, 50 members of the The Automatic Benefit for Children (ABC) Coalition, which represent research experts, advocates, organizers, and direct service practitioners, called on Congress to prioritize the needs of families and children being squeezed by inflation and extend the expanded monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC), including for immigrant children, as part of any economic or tax legislative package. 

Pandemic-fueled inflation is exacerbating the decades-long trend of rising costs of raising children, such as a 12% increase in diaper prices and 5% increase in child care since 2019. The expiration of the advanced monthly CTC payments has left families to deal with rising costs without the support they need, resulting in a spike in child poverty in January 2022.

“Extending the expanded monthly CTC would provide immediate, meaningful relief to more than 35 million families with 65 million children—approximately 90 percent of all children in the United States,” the letter states. “We are concerned that even as families struggle, efforts to extend the CTC appear to have stalled in the Senate, while discussions about reviving and bolstering tax breaks for corporations have continued in earnest.” This sends the wrong message to families still struggling to recover from the pandemic and keep up with rising costs.

The full letter to Congress can be read here. 

About the ABC Coalition. The Automatic Benefit for Children Coalition is a cross-cutting group of national, state, and grassroots organizations. Our mission is to create a child allowance, or a guaranteed minimum income for children, that provides regular, meaningful assistance to families, promotes racial equity and justice, enjoys broad public support, and serves as a foundation for a more equitable and inclusive social support system. We see the expansion of a fully inclusive Child Tax Credit as a step toward that goal. Learn more at www.abccoalition.org.