After-tax median real income last year fell $6,220 as some, but not all, Covid transfer payments lapsed. Fully Refundable Child Tax Credit —The 2021 American Rescue Plan expanded the child tax credit (a reduction in the income taxes a taxpayer owes) from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under six. Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit —The Earned Income Tax Credit is a wage-subsidy program for low-income workers. —The Earned Income Tax Credit is a wage-subsidy program for low-income workers. In their editorial “The Parable of the Child Tax Credit,” they argued that the child tax credit had caused only “a small decline in poverty.” Their evidence was the relative stability of the official poverty rates.

Source: Wall Street Journal November 17, 2023 09:38 UTC