by Amy Matsui, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center
Yesterday, Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) took an important step to make child care more affordable. The bill they introduced, the Family Tax Relief Act of 2008, would improve the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for millions of families, especially the low- and moderate-income families who most need help obtaining affordable, high-quality child care.
This bill could make a big difference for working families who pay for child care. A family earning $15,000 that pays $5,000 for the child care that enables them to work gets no benefit from the current child care tax credit – but would get $2,500 from this proposal. And when average costs of child care can exceed the costs of rent in some areas, this is help that is sorely needed. For more details, check out NWLC’s fact sheet.
Comments