WARREN Ryan seeks tax credit for low-income parents

The congressman says the tax-cut plan is unfair.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
WARREN -- Pressure should be placed on President Bush to push for the reinstatement of a provision in his tax plan to give full child tax credits to lower-income people, says U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.
Ryan, of Niles, D-17th, said Monday that he and fellow Democrats in Congress were shut out of the negotiations on the recently passed $350 billion tax cut plan, and because of that, lower-income families weren't protected.
The tax cut plan calls for an increase in the child tax credit from $600 a child to $1,000 a child for families with annual incomes of $26,000 to $110,000.
The original bill included the tax credit for families with annual incomes of at least $10,500, but the threshold was raised during negotiations among Republican members of Congress to keep the overall tax cut at $350 billion.
Families with annual incomes between $10,500 and $26,000 will get a portion of the child tax credit, but not the full $1,000 amount.
The White House defends the decision, saying the tax cuts should benefit taxpayers, and not low-income families who pay little to no taxes, according to a Knight Ridder Newspapers report.
What's sought
Instead of cutting out low-income families from the tax plan, the richest 1 percent of people shouldn't have received such a large tax break, Ryan said.
Those earning $1 million or more will average a $93,000 tax cut under the plan. If that tax cut were reduced to $88,000, low-income families would receive the full child tax credit, Ryan said.
"If there's enough political pressure, the president can try to take care of this," he said. "We don't dare touch someone who makes $1 million, but we'll do it to those making $10,000. It doesn't seem fair."
Ryan couldn't estimate how many people in his congressional district won't receive the full child tax credit but says it has to be a lot because half of the households in the district have annual incomes below $40,000.
skolnick@vindy.com