New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Friday signed a bill into law which doubles the state child tax credit.
The bill, which doubles the amount of the credit signed into law last year, increases the maximum credit for eligible families from $500 to $1,000 for each child under the age of 6.
The bill was approved by the state Senate and Assembly on Friday, by wide margins, 75-3 and 30-5 respectively.
Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, (D-Essex), who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the state saw “huge success” with the program in 2022.
“Expanding these tax credits will go a long way in helping to pay for childcare and managing the rising costs of everyday life,” Ruiz commented during a committee hearing on the bill earlier in the week.
According to the bill, families making $30,000 or less per year, will now receive $1,000 per child under the age of 6. The $1,000 amount will be reduced by $20 for every $1,000 of income that the taxpayer’s taxable income exceeds $30,000 until the annual income amount reaches $80,000, at which point a family will no longer be eligible.
An earlier version of this bill, introduced in February, called for the age limit to be expanded to children under the age of 12. However, that provision was removed from this latest version.
The credit can be claimed when a taxpayer files their New Jersey annual tax return.
The credit is refundable, meaning that any excess credit beyond the taxpayer’s tax liability will be paid to the taxpayer in the form of a tax refund.
So basically giving more money to those with no child expenses since they already have their food, insurance and daycare expenses paid by government programs!
All families have plenty of child expenses regardless of their income, especially in Lakewood. But let’s say we accept your premise that poor families are living a good life on these very limited government programs. A family making $60,000 surely has child expenses. They would get $400 per child from this tax credit, or $2,400 for a family of six. That makes a difference.