New York Families Could Get $950 Support as Child Tax Credit as Per Hochul’s New Plan

Race Day Live (New York City, NY) – Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York suggested on Monday expanding the state’s child tax credit, which would more than quadruple what some families presently receive.

The plan, the second in a series of recent recommendations by the governor to solve the state’s affordability crisis, would provide qualifying families with a $1,000 tax credit for each child under the age of four. Each child aged 4 to 16 will qualify for a tax benefit of up to $500 per child.

In recent years, the state has paid up to $330 per child to New York’s poorest families. Ms. Hochul will include the plan in her State of the State address next week, as well as seek for its inclusion in her executive budget.

Frustration with the high cost of living emerged among voters in the 2024 elections, and many Democrats, reflecting on Republican successes, believed they should have talked more about affordability.

Ms. Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have already promised tax cuts or refunds that they hope the Legislature will enact this year. Mr. Adams’ proposal would abolish New York City income taxes for more than 400,000 low-wage individuals. Ms. Hochul revealed in December that she plans to spend about $3 billion to mail checks ranging from $300 to $500 to approximately 8.6 million New Yorkers, using sales tax income.

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Ms. Hochul said in a news conference Monday that she has always been concerned about affordability, and that suggestions such as expanding the child tax credit have been influenced by her own experience raising children and understanding the financial hardship that can put on a family.

In recent years, the state has spent billions of dollars on child care and expanding eligibility for subsidy programs. Ms. Hochul’s suggested tax credits have been popular and successful. During the early years of the coronavirus epidemic, an extension of the federal child tax credit resulted in significant decreases in adolescent poverty. This expansion then expired, and bipartisan efforts to reauthorize it failed.

Ms. Hochul’s proposal would affect more than 2.75 million children in the state; families earning up to $200,000 per year would be eligible for the credit. According to a news release, Ms. Hochul’s proposal would quadruple the average family credit to about $950.

Legislative leaders, who have proposed similar ideas in previous budget negotiations, appeared amenable.

State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader, stated in a statement that she, like Ms. Hochul, is the first mother and grandmother to serve in her position. She stated that funding for child care would remain a priority during this parliamentary session.

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Even a few Albany Republicans were sympathetic to the proposal. State Senator Jacob Ashby, a Republican from Rensselaer County, stated that the state must do more “to make structural changes to our state economy” such as decreasing taxes across the board. Many of his colleagues have criticized Ms. Hochul, claiming that her administration has not done enough to reduce prices for New York residents.

According to academics at Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, if Ms Hochul’s proposal is implemented, it will be among the most generous child tax credits in the country. In 2023, New York and 15 other states had some kind of this credit, with variations in the amount provided to families and the income threshold when it was phased down. When the proposal is fully implemented in several years, these Columbia researchers predict that the tax decrease will reduce child poverty by approximately 9%.

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