A new report issued by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) shows that proposed changes to the child tax credit in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (HR 7024) would boost support for large and growing American families by eliminating current provisions in the US tax code that penalize households with more than one child.

            The report, which comes in response to a congressional inquiry by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), confirms that the child tax credit proposals contained in the Committee-passed legislation will bring greater economic relief to large families across the country while also promoting pro-growth policies that encourage Americans to work.

            “Under no circumstances should large families be penalized by our tax code,” said Smith, an avid defender of pro-family and pro-life policies in Congress.

            “At a time when many are struggling to make ends meet, this legislation will help deliver critical economic relief to large American families—and those that are still growing—by ensuring the child tax credit work incentives apply equally to families across the board,” Smith said.

            “China penalizes families based on the number of children they have,” said Smith, who serves as Chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “The US should not.”

            According to the House Ways and Means Committee, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act—authored by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO)—would further enhance the child tax credit by adjusting the tax credit for inflation, provide greater flexibility for taxpayers to use either current- or prior-year income to calculate the child tax credit for the next two years, and incrementally increase the refundable portion of the tax credit through 2025.

            “I thank my colleague and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Jason Smith for his strong commitment to not only boost US competitiveness but also help hardworking families across the country by expanding tax relief to even more families,” Rep. Chris Smith added.

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