Advocates push to get a child tax credit through the Legislature this session

Family advocates, parents and a number of lawmakers say it's time for a child tax credit in Hawaiʻi. Many of them gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday.

The tax credit would be scaled to income. Families making less than $40,000 a year could claim the full credit of $650 per child.

The credit would decrease as the family income increases, so a family making $115,000 a year would only be able to claim $65 per child.

Hawaiʻi Appleseed for Law & Economic Justice, a social advocate nonprofit, supports the measure. Its senior budget policy analyst Devin Thomas said the tax credit could sustain families who are just scraping by.