Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday proposed expanding a child care tax credit, a move he said would benefit more than 200,000 families earning between $50,000 and $150,000.
The proposal was billed as the governor’s third proposal in his State of the State for 2017, which he is unspooling this week and next in a series of announcements around the state.
The total cost of the proposal would be $42 million, Cuomo’s office said.
“Far too many parents have to sacrifice working to build their family’s financial future because affordable, high quality day care is financially out of reach,” Cuomo said. “This newly enhanced credit will make it easier for more New Yorkers to be able to secure day care for their children and able to enter or stay in the work force with peace of mind. With this proposal, we will be helping to build a stronger, better New York that truly lives up to its motto: Excelsior.”
The proposal for the Enhanced Middle Class Child Care tax credit would build on the already existing New York State Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. Overall, families earning incomes between $50,000 and $150,000 would receive an average benefit growing from $169 to $376 if adopted.
In the 2014 tax year, about 520,000 families received $189 million from current incarnation of the tax credit, which provides for a maximum benefit of 110 percent of the federal credit for those who earn less than $25,000. The rate phases down to 20 percent of the federal credit for those who earn more than $65,000.