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Union Leader: Child Tax Credit Already Making a Difference for One Nashua Mom: “It’s Helped Me Continue to Live”
In Case You Missed It, the Union Leader reported that the Child Tax Credit payments that President Biden, Senator Shaheen, Senator Hassan, Congresswoman Kuster, and Congressman Pappas delivered for Granite Staters are already making a massive difference for Granite State families. Krystle Urban of Nashua said that the CTC payments have helped her keep her job, make sure her bills are paid, and put her sons Ryder and Axel in day care. In February Chris Sununu said if he was in the Senate he “would be a no” on these tax cuts for New Hampshire families.
Read more from the Union Leader.
Key Excerpts:
“Urban said the child tax credit is helping to keep her in the workforce"
“But when the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill was signed into law in March, Urban became one of the tens of millions of parents available for a temporarily expanded child tax credit. Unlike the traditional tax credit, payments from the expanded credit come in monthly installments, rather than a lump sum at tax time.”
“The payments — $300 for each child under 6, and $250 for each child between 6 and 17, meaning Urban’s family gets $550 per month — have helped smooth Urban’s transition from public assistance, she said.”
Union Leader: As child tax credit is debated in Washington, Nashua mom says it's making a difference
By Josie Albertson Grove
As Congress debates extending the expanded child tax credit as part of the Democrats’ social spending bill, one Nashua mom is feeling the impact the credit has made in her life.
“I’ve just been able not to stress,” said Krystle Urban, mother of Ryder, 11, and Axel, who is almost 4. “I’m not stressing like, ‘what bill do I pay? Do I pay my cell phone bill, or make sure we have internet, or keep the lights on?’”
Urban said the child tax credit is helping to keep her in the workforce, but whether the credit is helping keep parents at work has been the subject of debate as Congress considers the question of extending the credit or making it permanent or letting it expire at the end of this year.
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For Urban, though, the effect of the tax credit is clear.
“I can continue to work and keep my kids in day care,” she said. “It’s helped me continue to live, and continue to be a productive person.”
Urban said she is in recovery and regained custody of her children last year. As she has rebuilt her life after years of substance use, she has run into a phenomenon sometimes called the “benefits cliff,” when a higher-paying job makes someone ineligible for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or food stamps, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families payments, but the new income doesn’t make up for the lost benefits or can’t cover the cost of child care needed for a parent to work.
When Urban’s volunteer work at a Nashua recovery center led to a full-time job earlier this year, she worried the loss of public assistance would mean she would have to cut back in other ways. She worries most about not being able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for her boys.
But when the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill was signed into law in March, Urban became one of the tens of millions of parents available for a temporarily expanded child tax credit. Unlike the traditional tax credit, payments from the expanded credit come in monthly installments, rather than a lump sum at tax time.
The payments — $300 for each child under 6, and $250 for each child between 6 and 17, meaning Urban’s family gets $550 per month — have helped smooth Urban’s transition from public assistance, she said. She has been able to put her bills on auto-pay and sock away some money for emergencies, she said.