Luján: 140,000 New Mexico Children Would Benefit From Tax Relief Legislation

                                                                                           Bipartisan Legislation Blocked by Senate Republicans

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement on the Senate vote of the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act:

“Families in New Mexico and across America need and deserve a fair tax system that works for them, not just corporations and billionaires. From helping put food on the table to cutting housing costs, this bipartisan tax relief legislation would uplift millions of families and children out of poverty. The expanded Child Tax Credit would benefit 140,000 New Mexico children – a true game-changer for our youngest and most vulnerable. And while I will still fight to continue to expand the Child Tax Credit, this legislation is a significant step forward for New Mexican families.”

“This legislation also addresses the Trump tax cuts that hurt small businesses and put the biggest corporations ahead of workers and families. This package is fully paid for by addressing tax fraud and ensuring that this relief truly works for the people. I am disappointed that Senate Republicans blocked this relief for so many families.”

The Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act would:

Provide relief and lift families out of poverty: The bill will raise the cap on the Child Tax Credit for low-income families, making them eligible for a full $2,000 CTC. The bill will also stop the longstanding discrimination against low-income families who have multiple kids. The bill will help 16 million kids, including 6.2 million Hispanic children and 2.5 million children living in rural areas, from low-income families and lift 500,000 out of poverty. This bill would have provided immediate relief granting $900 on average this tax filing season. New Mexico background is available here. 

Help reduce housing costs: The low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) is the largest and most successful federal incentive to increase the supply of affordable housing. This legislation will help provide more than 200,000 additional affordable homes, by enhancing LIHTC to boost state allocations and free up financing space for the 31 states that are at or above their private activity bond caps.

Support small businesses: This legislation restores the research and capital investment incentives for the 3.8 million small businesses that lost them from the 2017 Trump tax bill.

Relief for victims of disasters: The bill incorporates bipartisan legislation that will help communities and families hit by disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires, by expanding casualty loss deductions and exempting certain compensation payments from income.

Address tax fraud: This legislation would be fully paid for by stamping out fraud in the employee retention tax credit (ERTC). Although the ERTC was aimed at helping businesses avoid layoffs during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, a shocking number of new ERTC claims continue to come in, and by some accounts, up to 95 percent are fraudulent. In the meantime, some legitimate businesses have waited years to receive their ERTC claims, as processing has been slowed by the volume of fraudulent claims.

The section-by-section summary of the bill can be found here.