New Tax Bill Could Cut Adoption Credit
DENVER (CBS4) - A provision in the proposed Republican tax bill is worrying adoption advocates in Colorado.
The current federal tax credit for adoption is $13,570 per child, a provision in the proposed tax bill would eliminate it.
The goal is to help offset the costs that come with adding a new member to the family.
Marc Hendrikson and his wife have adopted four children and say the credits helped them get bigger cars and offset the costs of everyday needs like diapers.
"We actually did the math once and through being foster parents and adoptive parents we've changed 40,000 diapers. So yeah it's expensive," he told CBS4's Dominic Garcia.
Lauren Arnold, the executive director of the Adoption Exchange, worries that without the tax credit many families won't adopt because they simply can't afford it.
"What's at stake here is the child who's not going to be adopted because there's not as much of an incentive or it's too much of a financial burden for a family to undertake that task," said Arnold.
There are currently there are 112,000 children in the United States who are waiting to be adopted and Arnold says that credit can actually save money in the long run.
"Every child that ages out of foster care without a permanent home costs us as a state, a system, about $300,000 per child. So it's pretty significant the small amount of the tax credit can offset a hug cost to the state," she told CBS4.
Dominic Garcia anchors CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and reports for CBS4 News at 10 p.m. Connect with the Denver native on Twitter @cbs4dom & on Facebook.
