The credit would max out at $1,200 for qualifying families each year, according to a fact sheet on the plan, while the Social Security expansion would allow Americans to accrue credit toward their Social Security benefits when they are out of the paid workforce due to caregiving requirements.
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The caregivers credit comes as part of a series of middle-class tax benefits Clinton is beginning to unveil as part of her campaign.
“I want to expand Social Security by taking into account the often overlooked and undervalued work of family caregivers”, Clinton says.
Following Clinton’s opening remarks when she detailed her tax plans, guests at the town hall meeting were given an opportunity to share some of their concerns with the presidential candidate.
Clinton has also proposed an effort to address challenges faced by workers.
In the two months since their encounter, Clinton has mentioned Thompson in almost every major speech – and she speaks frequently about the “caregiver crisis” facing those who look after loved ones full-time without enough financial support. She also proposed expanding Social Security to reward those who take time out of their careers to act as caregivers for relatives. Essentially, family members who offer care to their aging parents and grandparents will be eligible for tax breaks, she suggested.
Democrat Hillary Clinton on Tuesday won the endorsement of the 500,000-member Laborers’ global Union of North America, bolstering her lead for the party’s nomination in the November 2016 presidential race.
“That will help family budgets stretch, it will help seniors maintain independence”, Clinton noted.
Sanders’s campaign, however, told the Washington Post that for all but the wealthiest taxpayers, the tax increases would be offset by other benefits he has proposed, like tuition-free higher education and universal child care. Americans with out-of-pocket health care expenses exceeding 5 percent of their income would be eligible for the credit.
In March, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Barbara Mikulski introduced in a bill that would implement the elder care tax credit, but it has, so far, gone nowhere in the Senate.
Her previous proposals have included tax cuts for small businesses and middle class families.
Her main rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, has deep ties to the labor movement, but he has struggled to gain lasting traction against Clinton.
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“I think she’s really hit on the idea that sometimes people are working and their work isn’t valued”, said Engle, a school counselor.
