Top legislators in Congress on Tuesday announced a bipartisan compromise that would expand the child tax credit and revive some Trump-era business tax breaks, NBC News reports. House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., and Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. struck the $78 billion deal after months of negotiations in a bitterly divided Congress. “American families will benefit from this bipartisan agreement that provides greater tax relief, strengthens Main Street businesses, boosts our competitiveness with China, and creates jobs," Smith said in a statement.
The agreement would work to aid families struggling financially or with multiple children by bolstering refundable child tax credits and raising the credit's $1,600 refundable limit to account for inflation. The new policy, according to an analysis by the liberal-minded Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, would help around 16 million children in low-income households. The deal also gives three expired 2017 tax breaks for businesses new legs, allotting $33 billion to benefits related to research and experimental costs, interest deduction, small-business expensing and bonus depreciation. Wyden expressed his hope that the deal will pass by Jan. 29, the beginning of tax filing season, as Congress races against the clock to avert another potential government shutdown at the end of this week.
“Fifteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given today’s miserable political climate, it’s a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead,” Wyden said Tuesday in a statement. “My goal remains to get this passed in time for families and businesses to benefit in this upcoming tax filing season, and I’m going to pull out all the stops to get that done.”
