The White House recently released a tax reform proposal that would repeal the estate tax, among other provisions. Repealing the estate tax would result in $240 billion in tax cuts for millionaires over the next 10 years. Only those with estates valued at more than $5.5 million for an individual and $11 million for a couple are subject to the estate tax. These estates represent the wealthiest 0.2 percent of Americans. In fact, President Donald Trump’s children could see a $1 billion tax windfall from this provision.
During his campaign, President Trump said that he would make child care more affordable for low-income and middle-class families. He could make good on that promise by prioritizing child care assistance over tax breaks for millionaires.
The $240 billion in tax breaks for the wealthy could help the families of 4.2 million young children under age 5 pay for an entire year of child care.
The United States has an existing child care assistance program that reaches just 1 in 6 eligible children due to funding limitations. While the current assistance levels are often too low to help families access high-quality programs and to pay child care workers a living wage, the program does help defray costs for the families that receive assistance. The table below demonstrates how many children could receive child care assistance in each state in 2021 if President Trump and his congressional allies choose child care assistance over tax breaks for the wealthy.
Katie Hamm is the vice president for Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress.