"[The US should] dramatically expand its current earned-income tax credit, a form of negative income tax that pays low-earners instead of asking them to pay income tax..."
A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "discount" applied in certain cases. Another way to think of a tax credit is as a rebate.
"You get a tax break for a racehorse, why in Gods name couldnt we provide an $8,000 tax credit for everybody who has childcare costs? It would put 720 million women back in the workforce. It would increase the GDP, to sound like a wonk here, by about eight-tenths of one percent. It would grow the economy."
"Important changes to the Child Tax Credit are helping many families get advance payments of the credit:"
"[allow the child-care expenses incurred on Saturdays] to allow (the parent) to hold full-time employment from Monday to Friday"
"In a matter of days, millions of Americans could be strapped for cash"
"We will deliver the largest working- and middle-class tax cut in a generation. Up to $500 a month to help Americas families make ends meet"