Ways & Means advances bill expanding child tax credit, boosting EITC and raising retirement-exemption thresholds

The House Ways & Means Committee on an afternoon vote advanced a committee bill (Drafting Request 25970) that would expand three state tax benefits: raise the child tax credit age eligibility by one year, increase the percentage of the federal earned-income tax credit (EITC) available to filers without dependents, and raise adjusted gross income (AGI) thresholds used to determine partial exemptions for Social Security, Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and military retirement income. The committee approved the measure on a roll-call vote of 10-1.

Why it matters: The committee’s Joint Fiscal Office estimate, agreed with the Department of Taxes, puts the combined incremental cost of the three changes at about $9.6 million in foregone general-fund revenue annually. The changes are designed to deliver additional tax relief to families, childless workers and older Vermonters receiving retirement income but would reduce state general-fund receipts if enacted.

Joint Fiscal Office fiscal summary and attribution Patrick Titterton, Joint Fiscal Office, briefed the committee on the fiscal note. “These three changes put together would result in about $9,600,000 in foregone general fund revenue annually,” Titterton said. He told members the package is composed of three separate components: the child tax credit (CTC) age increase, an increase in the state EITC percentage for claimants without dependent children, and the $5,000…