CLEVELAND — Editor's Note: The above video features tax information from 3News' "It's About You."
Some residents in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood received a visit from two of the area's top political leaders on Tuesday.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown came together to go door-to-door in an effort to help residents claim their benefits through the expanded Child Tax Credit.
“For the first time, the City of Cleveland is taking an active role in outreach to ensure residents claim the tax credits they have earned and deserve," Bibb said in a statement. The EITC Coalition has been doing this important work since 2005 and I’m proud to be standing side by side with Senator Brown, members of my cabinet and this coalition today in the neighborhood that raised me. As leaders, it’s our job to make sure residents know what services and support are available at tax time."
According to Brown's office, the families of 92% of Ohio’s kids are eligible for a Child Tax Credit of $3,000 to $3,600 per child as part of the American Rescue Plan. According to the U.S. Census, more than half of children in Cleveland live in poverty, and the city estimates the families of more than 4,000 Cleveland children are eligible for the credit but may not be receiving the benefit.
“Mayor Bibb and I are working to reach Ohio families to make sure they claim the tax cuts they’ve earned," Brown added in the statement. "The Child Tax Credit is one of the best tools we have to ensure parents’ hard work pays off, and to allow them to keep up with the cost of living. We’re working with the city to try to reach out to as many parents as possible – to make sure they know that if they’re not required to file their taxes, they can go to ChildTaxCredit.gov to claim their CTC.”
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