A mistake that would have caused a one-year delay in the activation of a governmental child tax credit is being fixed by New Jersey lawmakers. A bill providing citizens of New Jersey with a per-child, refundable income tax rebate of up to $500 was approved by the Legislature in June and made law by Governor Phil Murphy.
What Is The Error In The Bill
Even though the bill’s $18 million cost was taken into account in the current year budget proposal that was approved in June, a drafting error meant that the new bill that was passed into law will only take effect in 2023, abandoning the money unpaid for 2022 tax returns. The credit would start to apply to tax bills from 2021 under the cleanup law.
Before voting to send the bill to the governor’s desk, however, lawmakers were aware of its flaws. The inaccuracy was pointed out at the time by Assemblyman Hal Wirths, one of the two Assembly members to oppose the bill.
The cleanup bill will be heard by the Assembly Oversight, Reform, and Federal Relations Committee on Monday, and the full chamber may vote to pass it as soon as that day.
Collaboration With Lawmakers
Rodriguez said her organization would look to collaborate with lawmakers to broaden the state-level tax credit for children in future years. New Jersey Policy Perspective as well as other progressive organizations pushed for its involvement in this year’s budget.
The cleanup is expected. The credit was aimed to be accessible for 2022 filings, according to a joint statement released by Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, and the bill’s funders a day after it was signed into law. They also promised to correct the bill’s text at a later date.
The bill will be put to a vote by the Senate on Thursday. Instead of holding a committee hearing, senators presented their rendition of the measure right after the second reading.
With just two votes against it in the Assembly & 6 in the Senate, the proposal passed both chambers with largely bipartisan votes. There won’t likely be much resistance to the cleanup. Murphy is also anticipated to sign the legislation reports New Jersey Monitor.
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