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Today Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) was joined by Congressman Parker Griffith (D-AL) in introducing legislation to avoid an automatic tax increase on working families. The Child Tax Credit Preservation Act (H.R. 793) makes the $1,000 per child tax credit permanent and requires that it be indexed to account for inflation each year.

“Raising a family these days isn’t getting any cheaper,” said Congressman Posey. “Families need to know they can count on receiving this tax credit every year and that its value and impact on the family budget is not eroded over time by inflation. Since being set at $1,000 nearly seven years ago, it has lost about $200 in purchasing power. That’s about $600 a year for a family of five.”

“During these tough economic times, it is important that we provide all the tax cuts that we can afford,” Griffith said. “The more money in our pockets means more food on our table and more time we can spend with our families.”

Specifically, the Child Tax Credit Preservation Act makes the child tax credit permanent so families can plan for future expenses and it updates the $1,000 credit amount to correct for the value lost due to inflation since 2001 when the credit was set at $1,000. It also requires that the credit be indexed to account for inflation each year into the future and indexes a family’s income thresholds to account for inflation as well.

Each year it’s estimated that inflation cuts away the value of the child tax credit by 2 to 3 percent. Rep. Posey said, “Over three years the child credit could lose nearly 10 percent of its value due to annual inflation. My bill simply helps families maintain their purchasing power, which in turn helps strengthen our economy.”