ARKANSAS, USA — A bipartisan tax bill, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 could bolster the Child Tax Credit, possibly benefitting almost 200,000 Arkansas children in 2024.
"The child tax credit is designed to ensure that families have the resources to meet their children's needs," said Laura Kellems, the NWA director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
"About half the families would get at least $600 more in a tax credit for a year. And then a good number of families would get as much as $1,000 or more," Kellams said.
The legislation will make it easier for families to qualify for the credit and adjust the limit in future years to account for inflation. Kellams said the act is aimed at lower-income families that wouldn't receive the full benefits compared to higher-income families.
"Under current law, many low-income families with two or three children receive roughly the same amount as a family with one child at the same earnings level. That doesn't make a lot of sense. The proposed change would provide the same credit [per child], which is how higher income families are already able to file," Kellams explained.
"The way that [the current law is] structured ... low-income families can't have higher credit if they have more than one child," Kellams said. "This would make sure that we make a more fair system."
Kellams said that the Child Tax Credit update is much needed in a state economy where many families face poverty.
"We have one of the nation's highest child poverty rates, one in four kids in Arkansas lives in poverty. These are families who are working full time, and they just don't make the wages that allow their family to get out of poverty," Kellams explained. "Families can use [tax credits] directly for their children's expenses, from putting food on the table to ensuring that they have high-quality childcare.
"This is just putting money right back into the Arkansas economy, and helping 191,000 children in our state," Kellams said.
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