Debunking Strawmen Arguments for Wyden-Smith

Debunking Strawmen Arguments for Wyden-Smith

Yes – Illegal Immigrants Receive the Child Tax Credit. They Should Not

• The Child Tax Credit (CTC) has always had an illegal immigrant problem.

o In 2010, illegal immigrants received $4.3 billion from the CTC.1 • Trump-Pence partially curbed this abuse in 2017 by requiring children to have a valid SSN. • Biden’s temporary expansion resulted in the vast majority of illegal immigrants receiving

the CTC (averaging ~$5,000). Just half of legal residents received it, and they got less.2 • Wyden-Smith moves the CTC closer to the version in Biden’s $2 trillion American Rescue

Plan, meaning more cash for illegal immigrants. Biden Is Working to Make It Easier for Illegal Immigrants to Receive the Credit

• Biden’s DHS is further sidestepping CTC safeguards by granting illegal immigrants SSNs

via fast-tracked work authorizations.3 • Conservatives cannot support Wyden-Smith without closing the CTC loophole. Americans Should Not Be Paying People Not To Work

• The new CTC “lookback provision” means that someone working only every other year

would get the exact same credit as someone working continuously.4 • These freeriders will cost the American people nearly one billion dollars annually.5 Eliminating Fraud is Good Governance, Not a Hostage for More D.C. Spending

• $700: Cost of Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) to each American since 2020.

o The Wall Street Journal called the ERTC “the Biggest Covid Scam.”6 • Congress should eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, not leverage it for new pet projects. • Reality check: The current score is based off the package becoming law by January 31.

o The Senate wants a mark-up so that’s not going to happen by the end of January. o Further - experts warn the penalty provisions may be unlawful, citing equal

protection and ex post facto issues that could be litigated in court. Let’s Be Honest: Checks During an Election Year = Buying Biden Votes

• The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) predicts the IRS can’t send out CTC refunds

before summer at earliest. However, IRS officials disagree, arguing it will take just weeks.7 • The NTA is an independent organization within the IRS, created to hold the IRS to account

and ensure that taxpayers are treated fairly. Congress should take its concerns seriously.

For more information, contact John Shelton (jshelton@advancingamericanfreedom.com)

1 https://cis.org/Report/Estimating-Illegal-Immigrant-Receipt-Cash-Payments-EITC-and-ACTC 2 https://cis.org/Camarota/New-Child-Tax-Credit-Would-Make-LowSkill-Immigration-Even-More-Expensive 3 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/31/biden-work-permits-for-migrants/71931816007/ 4 https://www.aei.org/center-on-opportunity-and-social-mobility/tax-extenders-package-would-cut-the-child-tax- credits-annual-work-requirement-in-half/ 5 https://twitter.com/George_A_Callas/status/1750262396160025034 6 https://www.wsj.com/articles/employee-retention-tax-credit-covid-congress-irs-employers-6c72e9c1 7 https://x.com/RyanJamesCarey/status/1750568269180781039

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