HARTFORD, CT – Democratic leaders joined with the United ay and families to laun
Renewed push to establish a refundable child tax credit in Connecticut during a news conference at the Legislative Office Building on Wednesday.
Two related bills are before the General Assembly this session. Senate Bill 740 would provide $150 per child, for up to three children, for the tax year beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and would scale up to a potential $600 per child over the next three years. Individuals earning more than $160,000 or married couples filing jointly earning more than $200,000 would have the amount they receive from the tax credit adjusted downward. House Bill 5986 would immediately provide $600 per child for up to three children. Individuals earning over $100,000 and couples earning over $200,000 would not be eligible for the tax credit under HB 5986.
“The child tax credit, as we know, is something that has extraordinary empowerment potential and as we saw when the federal child tax credit was briefly in existence a few years ago during the pandemic, it can be transformative,” said Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven. “If you combine a child tax credit with the state earned income tax credit, which we already have, it can really work miracles to raise families out of poverty and it will really make our state income tax finally achieve the level of progressivity that we’ve been working toward for more than 30 years.”
Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, also spoke about the impact of the short-lived federal child tax credit on American families. He noted that it led to the single largest decrease in childhood poverty in the history of the United States, and that those kinds of investments by the government in families were critical.
“I think what you can see from the executive and the legislative branch, and we have bipartisan support here today, is people feel more strongly than ever that the state needs to do more to help our families,” said Ritter. “I’ve been working very closely with [Rep. Maria Horn, D-Salisbury], who [co-chairs] our Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. She’s looking at all these things, and she’s got lots to balance and lots to consider. But sometimes, the credits that we provide as government are not seen, and are not felt where we want them to. The beauty of the child tax credit, and we did it a few years ago here in Connecticut, is we mailed checks to families.”
Mayra Duarte lives in Stanford, Conexico with her three children, ages 6, 12, and 17. She says the tax credit would be a big help for her family.
“I work as many hours as I can at a local coffee shop, but it’s still hard to cover everything my family needs, especially the clothes, shoes, and the food,” she said. “I’m grateful for the support we get from family, friends, and organizations, but what I really need is just a little extra money to buy new clothes for my kids or pay for a class field trip. I can take an extra shift to cover those clothes, but that also means less time with my kids.”
Rep. Antonio Felipe, D-Bridgeport, said that he’d heard from constituents that recent jumps in the cost of utilities and food were making it difficult to make ends meet.
Felipe also talked about how the benefits of the child tax credit extend beyond the immediate economic relief it provides to families. Using data from the Connecticut Nonprofit Child Tax Credit Coalition and the United Way, Felipe said that every dollar of a child tax credit can put $1.38 into the local economy.
Rep. Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford, said it’s the legislature’s responsibility to make sure that every child has a chance at thriving.
“And that’s where the child tax credit is a proven measure that can make sure that we are making the choice here in Connecticut, that families can not only make ends meet, but that they can ensure that their families can provide for the future of their children,” Farrar said.
In testimony during a meeting of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee later in the day, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, supported the idea of providing relief to Connecticut residents with families, but he offered a different solution besides the refundable child tax credit.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora listens during a news conference on a proposal to create a child tax credit in Connecticut at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. Credit: Jamil Ragland / CTNewsJunkie
“Our caucus has been pushing for a child tax deduction,” he said. “And the reason being, if you look at the earning tax credit, we are already giving families of four, families of three, families of two, a graduated rebate. So we already have a system for the [Earned Income Tax Credit] that recognizes the families that are in poverty. What we don’t recognize in the state of Connecticut is the working poor. A child tax deduction would recognize that. Our surrounding states all have that, and it would be an offset to the income tax that you earn as opposed to essentially a welfare benefit. So I would just say we should be redirecting ourselves and staying focused on the earned income tax credit.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this story misattributed a quote from Rep. Kate Farrar to another legislator.