In the News

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., says 182,000 children across the state, including around 35,000 in his district, will benefit from the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.

The House of Representatives passed the $78 billion tax bill with overwhelming bipartisan support this week.

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What You Need To Know

·        Rep. Richard Neal says 182,000 children across the state, including around 35,000 in his district, will benefit from the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act

·        The House of Representatives passed the $78 billion tax bill with overwhelming bipartisan support this week.

·        Conservative House Republicans criticized the part of the bill, saying it will grow “the welfare state”

·        Neal said ultimately if passed by the Senate and signed into law, the impact of the legislation will be felt locally by families and small businesses

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"I think that we can move away suggesting this is a significantly better position for children in America then it would've been had we not acted," Neal said.

The Center of Budget and Policy Priorities says 16 million children in low-income families would benefit in the first year of the bill’s Child Tax Credit expansion. The research and policy institute also expects as many as 400,000 children would be placed above the poverty line in year one.

Conservative House Republicans criticized the part of the bill, saying it will grow “the welfare state,” while progressive Democrats say the tax credit didn’t go far enough.

Rep. Neal said the tax bill also restores business deductions cut in 2017.

"I also thought that the R&D tax credit was really important for Massachusetts," Neal said. "When you consider what research and development means to our state, it's an important part of the economy and also the extraordinary work that takes in places like Kendall Square, in Cambridge."

Neal said ultimately if passed by the Senate and signed into law, the impact of the legislation will be felt locally by families and small businesses.

"It's going to give them more cash in their pockets," he said. "And I think that's the big deal. And in a time when I think there's been a disproportionate amount of influence on tax cuts for people at the top, this is a tax cut for people in the middle and at the bottom of the economic spectrum."