Castillo: Congress needs to expand child tax credit

Another tax season has passed where families will not receive the full benefits of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) due to the inaction of Congress. The previously expanded CTC that expired at the end of 2021 provided the vital economic relief that families needed to survive in the face of the pandemic, but despite these improvements to
livelihoods and reductions in child poverty (by about 50%), it was not renewed by Congress.

While we have moved beyond the peak of the pandemic (knock on wood), those same financial constraints are still being felt by Arizonans and other people across the U.S. Now, 19 million children in families with low-income will receive a much smaller CTC this year, including 2 million who will get nothing. Meanwhile, families making
$400,000 per year will get their full CTC.

We need a tax code that works for all Americans. Congress, including Sen. Sinema, Sen. Kelly, and our Arizonan Representatives, must start right now by expanding the CTC to families with low incomes in any tax legislation this year.