Lawmakers are again considering offering Utah families a tax credit for a parent who stays at home with young children.
Sen. Robert Muhlestein, R-Mapleton, says his proposal is meant to reward "undervalued" families who are committed to their children. But other lawmakers expressed concern about defining a stay-at-home parent, the financial impact the proposal might have on public education and possible discrimination against single parents who are forced off of government assistance and into employment.Muhlestein said the tax credit should be considered, especially because child-care subsidies are being considered on a federal level.
Muhlestein told the Health and Human Services Interim Committee he had a conflict of interest: His wife stays home with their children.
SB210 was passed by the state Senate during the 1998 session but never had a hearing in the House and was sent to the interim committee for study. Muhlestein urged the committee to reintroduce the bill in next year's Legislature.
The proposal is a pro-rated tax-relief effort based on how much a family makes. The higher the income the lower the tax credit - from $500 per child down to $50. Only children under the age of 6 are considered for the tax break.
According to the proposal, only families owing income taxes would receive the $500 tax credit. If a family didn't owe anything in taxes, they wouldn't get money back because of the credit.
But some lawmakers expressed concern that the money the state wouldn't collect - about $17 million - would hurt public education. And Rep. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, worried that the proposal discriminated against single parents.
"We force a woman eligible for welfare out of the home to work. She would never qualify," Davis said.
Rep. Mary Carlson, R-Salt Lake, urged the committee to be careful.
"We want to be very careful not to equate all of society's ills with working parents," Carlson said. "There are many parents who can work and be good parents."