The Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud (IDJ), an entity that wants to promote measures to eradicate this problem in Puerto Rico, assured that the approval of the federal credit for children or “Child Tax Credit” (CTC) in the US Congress today is an important milestone in the tough fight against child poverty.
IDJ estimates that this loan could reduce child poverty by at least 4 percent. Moreover, the nature of these credits is that they increase the employment rate as they provide shelter to many working families. The median income in Puerto Rico is $ 19,097 per year, so one credit per child is a significant relief.
“We are grateful to the offices of legislative leadership who have always worked with the IDJ to advance these measures. In particular, Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Representative Nydia Velázquez and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González, who received numerous bipartisan endorsement for the extension of this credit to the island, ”said Dr. Anayra Túa López, Executive Director of the IDJ. “We recognize, however, that there is still work to be done to make this expansion permanent, as the approved benefit lasts only one year for all families and nine years for all working families.”
The legislation states that by 2021, families will receive $ 3,600 for children under six and $ 3,000 for children over the age of six to 18. Payments would be progressively reduced for individuals earning more than $ 75,000 or couples earning more than $ 150,000. In the context of the exemptions from the COVID childcare package, every family that has not earned any income in 2020 will receive this discount per child this tax year.
“The extension of the children’s tax credit to all families with children in Puerto Rico is one of the public policies the IDJ is promoting, but the work doesn’t stop here. We will monitor the implementation of this measure to ensure that benefits are received. On the other hand, the rest of the public policy agenda that we have set and presented to the country is still pending. A measure in itself does not solve the problem of child poverty, ”said Brayan Lee Rosa Rodríguez, Manager Public Policy at the IDJ.
As detailed, Puerto Rico is receiving refunds from Congress for the EITC expansion. In addition, if it chooses to expand its current EITC, the Treasury will ensure a match of up to three times the current cost of the Puerto Rico EITC, which would result in an increase in labor force participation and provide tax credits to all members of the EITC. workforce. Both the CTC and the EITC are anti-poverty measures promulgated by the Institute for Youth Development in its proposal to reduce child poverty in Puerto Rico by half in 10 years.
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