Ivanka Trump, Republican lawmakers push double child tax credit

Oct. 25 (UPI) -- White House adviser Ivanka Trump and congressional Republicans on Wednesday called for doubling the child tax credit to about $2,000.

Trump traveled the country this week pushing this aspect of her father's plan to reform the U.S. tax code. She spoke Monday in Richboro, Pa., about helping taxpayers to care for children, and sick or aging relatives.

On Wednesday, she spoke to reporters in Washington, D.C., along with Republican members of both the House and Senate.

"It is a priority of this administration and it is a legislative priority to ensure that American families can thrive and that we deliver real and meaningful tax relief to middle income Americans," she said.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said the credit -- currently $1,000 -- should be raised to at least $1,800.

A $2,000 child tax credit is "actually not a very negotiable number because anything less than that doesn't really achieve the goal," he said.

Rubio said the credit should be able to count against payroll taxes so taxpayers who don't income tax can still be able to claim the benefit.

When President Donald Trump unveiled his tax reform plan Sept. 27, he called for a substantially increased child tax credit, though he didn't offer any specifics on the number.

He said his plan would cut taxes for the middle class and make the tax code simpler.

"We want tax reform that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-worker, pro-family and yes, tax reform that is pro-American," the president said.

Though Trump has said his plan wouldn't benefit wealthy Americans, some Democrats say corporations and individuals in the higher-income brackets benefit the most.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Calif., in the U.S. House's Weekly Democratic Address last week, said the plan exacerbates income inequality.

"Democrats believe that the Republican tax plan is simply unfair, and would further rig the tax code for the rich. Under the Republican plan, tax revenues from individuals would rise by over $2 trillion dollars, while revenue from corporations would drop by over $6 trillion dollars -- this means more of the tax burden will be shifted from big corporations to working families," he said.

"Asking the American people to foot the bill for trillions in tax cuts for big corporations is wrong."