The proposed tax legislation being considered by our representatives is the biggest assault on the poor and middle class, and the biggest giveaway to the wealthy our country has ever entertained.
Today, we will focus on one targeted group: families who adopt our neediest kids.
In 2014, 50,644 foster kids were adopted — a number that has stayed roughly consistent for the past five years. The average age of a waiting child is 7.7 years old and 29% of them will spend at least three years in foster care. In addition to foster kids, there are tens of thousands of adoptions each year of international children, family members, and other needy kids.
An adoption can cost as much as $40,000 if a family uses a private agency, according to a survey from Adoptive Families Magazine. The adoption tax credit allows families to claim more than $13,000 in expenses related to an adoption. Even though it is capped and based on income, it generously allows families to carry forward some expenses into the next five tax years.
Republicans now seek to eliminate these deductions.
(Even CONSERVATIVES are hopping mad about this one, as it seems to contradict the GOP’s staunchly “pro-life” stance)
Eliminating the Adoption Tax Credit is yet another example of why the GOP tax bill is a gut punch to middle class families. https://t.co/sV5nfcytRA
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) November 2, 2017
Call your Members of Congress and demand that they vote NO on any tax bill that penalizes families who seek to give needy kids loving homes.
- Call Mike Turner at 202-225-6465
- Call Rob Portman at 202-224-3353
- Call Sherrod Brown at 202-224-2315
Script: “Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m calling from [ADDRESS]. I am calling today to demand that [NAME] vote NO on any tax bill that eliminates the adoption tax credit. This credit is vital to the hundreds of thousands of families who seek to adopt each year, and for the more than 100,000 children in foster care, waiting to be adopted. I can not imagine how a party that claims to be “pro-life” could possibly make parenthood out of financial reach for those who seek to adopt our neediest children. The adoption tax credit is the financial tool that makes parenthood possible for thousands of families. It must be preserved. I will be watching this vote closely.”
Note: this CTA was written by someone who was adopted, and knows first hand the struggle some families go through financially to adopt.