Over 600 New Yorkers Join Advocates & Experts Calling on Gov. Hochul to Include Working Families Tax Credit in State Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 1, 2025

ALBANY, NY — Over 600 everyday New Yorkers joined social service providers, anti-poverty experts and community advocates from across New York State in calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to include the Working Families Tax Credit in the 2025-2026 FY State Budget.

In an open letter, the coalition called the proposal “sound policy and an unquestionable political winner.” 

“New Yorkers want to see their leaders meet the moment and take concrete steps to make their lives easier,” the letter reads. “But they won’t be satisfied with half-measures or piecemeal steps that kick the can down the road, which is why we must pass the full proposal this year.”

The Working Families Tax Credit (S.2082/A.3474), sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi, combines and expands existing tax credits to give families up to $1,600 per child, guarantee a $100 minimum credit per child and pay out the benefit quarterly instead of once per year. It would also be pinned to inflation, so support for families will grow even if costs rise.

The Working Families Tax Credit—which is crafted to enable New York to meet its legally-mandated poverty reduction goals and stop working families from leaving the state— would slash child poverty nearly 17% and cut deep child poverty by 22% statewide, according to Policy Engine, which also found the proposal would increase the net income of more than a third of the state’s residents. The bill is identical to the top recommendation of Governor Kathy Hochul’s expert Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council.

The letter contrasts the Working Families Tax Credit with the Governor’s recent proposal to expand the existing Empire State Child Tax Credit. A family of four with a toddler and school-age child that earns $65,000 annually would receive $1,500 under Governor’s proposal, while under the Working Families Tax Credit, they’d receive at least $3,200.

The Working Families Tax Credit was included in both the State Senate and Assembly One-House Budget Proposals.

Read the full letter here. View the petition here.

"If Governor Hochul is serious about fighting for our families, she must step up and pass the Working Families Tax Credit. New Yorkers are struggling with the soaring costs of childcare, food, and housing. Hochul's child tax credit proposal fails to meet the urgency of a deepening affordability crisis — families need bold action, not just tweaks to the status quo. The Working Families Tax Credit delivers real relief, putting more money back in families' pockets," said Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper, Co-Directors, New York Working Families Party.

"New York is facing both an affordability crisis and a child poverty crisis that are forcing families out of the state and harming our most vulnerable communities. Today, 50% of working-age New Yorkers struggle to cover basic needs, and child poverty rates in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are twice as high as those in comparable U.S. cities," said Murad Awawdeh, President & CEO, New York Immigration Coalition. “The Working Families Tax Credit is a real solution that will put up to $1,600 directly into the pockets of eligible tax-paying families with children aged from 0 to 17, regardless of immigration status -- helping them afford rent, food, and childcare.” By distributing it quarterly, parents can better plan their expenses and build stability. Both the Senate and Assembly have passed the Working Families Tax Credit in their one-house budgets. Now it's time for Governor Hochul to join them in the fight for a New York where no child has to grow up in poverty."

“The Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) offers financial empowerment to hardworking families, putting money back into the pockets of New Yorkers who need it most,” said Tara Klein, Deputy Director of Policy and Advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses (UNH). “Across New York, families continue to face profound economic hardships. The Governor’s proposed expansion of the Empire State Child Tax Credit doesn’t go far enough to strengthen communities and shore up families who are struggling. The WFTC helps more New Yorkers, and that help is more meaningful for the lowest-income families who need it most. UNH is grateful to the Senate and Assembly for including the WFTC in its one house budget proposals, and we strongly urge Governor Hochul to embrace the WFTC as the best solution for New Yorkers."

"New Yorkers are demanding solutions to the affordability crisis, and every day that we don’t act, more families are pushed into poverty or pushed out of the state altogether. My Working Families Tax Credit can change that,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “My proposal puts money in parents’ pockets to pay for essentials like groceries, rent, and childcare. It’s as simple as this: you should not have to be a millionaire to raise a family in New York. If we want to tackle the affordability crisis, slash child poverty and grow the middle class, half-measures are simply not enough. We need bold action—and my Working Families Tax Credit fits the bill.”

"New York is facing an affordability crisis, and we have a solution. The Working Families Tax Credit will keep money in families' pockets and lift New Yorkers out of poverty. As we near the final days of budget negotiations, it is imperative the WFTC is included in its entirety,” said Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi.

Press Contact:

Billy Richling

Communications Director

State Senator Andrew Gounardes

billy@senatorgounardes.nyc

Ella Weber

NY Working Families Party

ella@newdealstrategies.com

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