Benefits Of $500 Child Tax Credit


The families of 51 million children, or more than 28 million families in all, would benefit from a $500 per year tax credit included in the congressional balanced budget proposal. The tax credit would put more than $22 billion a year into the hands of families, who research indicates are overtaxed.
  • In 1948, the average American family with children paid only 3 percent of its income to Uncle Sam, while today that family pays 24.5 percent.

  • The average family now pays $10,060 per year of its income to the federal government.

  • Eighty-nine percent of the benefits would go to families with adjusted gross incomes below $75,000 per year, and more than 96 percent to families with incomes below $100,000.

To put it another way, the tax cut for a typical family of four would buy one month's worth of groceries and pay one month's mortgage bill.

Source: Scott A. Hodge, "Balanced Budget Talking Points #4: The $500-Per-Child Tax Credit Means One Month's Food and Mortgage for a Typical American Family," December 4, 1995, F.Y.I. No. 75, Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002, (202) 546-4400.

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