Problem
One proposed reform to the child tax credit (CTC) would add a “lookback” provision, allowing nonworking families to receive the CTC as long as they worked in the prior year. This would effectively eliminate the CTC’s work requirement every other year and reduce net employment by 150,000 workers.
Solution
Do not establish a “lookback” provision in the CTC. This would preserve the existing CTC’s strong work incentive and avoid increasing federal spending.
Date of Proposal : February 27, 2024
Kevin Corinth et al., “Options for Improving the Child Tax Credit Provisions in H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024,” COSM Commentary, February 27, 2024, Read more.
Kevin Corinth, “Let’s Not Turn the Child Tax Credit into Welfare,” The Dispatch, January 29, 2024, Read more.
Matt Weidinger, “Tax Extenders Package Would Cut the Child Tax Credit’s Annual Work Requirement in Half,” AEIdeas, January 17, 2024, Read more.
Kevin Corinth, et al., “The Work Incentive and Employment Effects of Eliminating the Child Tax Credit’s Annual Income Requirement,” American Enterprise Institute, January 19, 2024, Read more.
Kevin Corinth and Scott Winship, “The Wyden-Smith Child Tax Credit and Work: Responding to Critics,” COSM Commentary, January 31, 2024, Read more.