Permanent, Ongoing Child Tax Credit

It is estimated that Minnesota families will be facing a $5200 inflation bill this year, which is the functional equivalent of a tax increase. We need targeted, flexible, and ongoing tax relief for all middle- and low-income parents who are raising children.

Urge the 2022 Taxes Conference Committee to make families the foremost beneficiaries of the tax bill (H.F. 3669) by creating a child tax rebate and making it permanent. 

Legislative leaders and Gov. Walz have reached a budget agreement about how to spend the state's nine billion dollar budget surplus. A conference committee is currently meeting to decide how four billion dollars of tax cuts will be allocated.

Tax relief is much needed. Families are facing what is effectively a large tax bill due to the extra $5200 that each Minnesotan will have to spend this year due to inflation. Additionally, the most recent Consumer Price Index reveals that the cost of energy in our area is up over 26 percent, and food prices are up over 11 percent. Overall, consumer prices are up 8.2 percent over the past 12 months.

In the halls of Capitol, the debate over how to deliver economic relief has been focused on two flawed approaches to tax policy whose collateral effects are less than ideal:

• The Senate’s proposal is centered on a permanent reduction of the income tax rates that would provide tax cuts to those who are most able to endure price increases for basic necessities.
• The House’s proposal is centered on mixed bag of tax credits and one-time rebates that is limited in its impact, flexibility, and reach.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference is proposing a better solution! Let’s provide direct economic relief to our hardest workers- Minnesota parents raising kids. Concretely, this means creating a permanent child tax credit, or rebate, that is fully refundable. A similar federal child tax credit (now expired) raised thousands of children out of poverty and provided policymakers with an excellent case study.

Our call for a families-first tax bill stems from the Church’s social teaching on subsidiarity, which states that “public authorities have the duty to sustain the family . . . The family does not exist for society or the State, but society and the State exist for the family.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 214)

Minnesota has an opportunity to build on the success of the expired federal credit by creating a child tax credit of our own. Nine other states have already enacted a child tax credit. A refundable tax credit of $450 per year, per child, provided to all families with household incomes under $150,000 would place Minnesota amongst the nation’s leading states for pro-family tax policy.

Minnesota should take the initiative and support families burdened by the increased costs of living and inflation. An innovative, universal child benefit, such as a refundable child tax credit, could also help address our state’s long-term workforce and population concerns.  People make decisions about whether to have children in part based on the economic outlook, so we should do what we can to remove barriers from family formation. We need targeted tax relief for our state’s most important producers, our families, because they are doing the hard work of raising the next generation. They need it the most.

Act Now:

If you have...

One Minute: Send a message to legislators asking them to put families first by including an ongoing, direct, and fully refundable per child tax credit in the 2022 tax bill. We must provide the lion’s share of economic relief to those who need it most­­––parents raising minor children.

Three Minutes: After sending your elected official a quick email, take another minute to call his or her office. A suggested script and talking points will show up on your device. Legislators do not often get calls from their constituents, so a follow-up call will greatly increase your impact and further build your relationship.

More Time: Read and share our Child Tax Credit one-pager, read and share our Star Tribune Op-ED, and listen to our podcast on pro-family economics with Patrick Brown.