Senator Carper Highlights Critical Tax Code Provisions to Support Working Families

Today, at the Senate Finance Committee hearing “Anti-Poverty and Family Support Provisions in the Tax Code,” U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del), a senior member of the committee, highlighted how tax credits like the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are helping working families.

During the hearing, Senator Carper noted the importance of better targeting the CTC to reach those who need it most:

“One important principle that I try to follow when considering policies like the child tax credit is to ensure that benefits are targeted to those most in need. I think that’s a view that’s shared by most – if not all – of my colleagues. Unfortunately, the child tax credit, as it currently exists, does not reflect this principle. And today, I’m told that a married couple earning up to $400,000 per year is able to receive the full benefit of the child tax credit. At the same time, a married couple at the lowest end of the income spectrum is only eligible for a portion of that credit.”

Senator Carper also emphasized that the EITC has long served as a strong incentive for low-income adults to enter the workforce while also supporting families:

“We got good news today on inflation – it continues to subside. We’re looking now at an annual rate down to about 4%. We have 340,000 new jobs that were created last month, and the unemployment rate is still about the lowest it has been in a long, long time. But we still have a tough time encouraging people to enter the workforce following the pandemic. Fortunately, the earned income tax credit is a proven bipartisan tool to tackle this challenge and bring people back into the workforce.”

A video of Senator Carper’s questions at today’s hearing can be found here.  

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