Mike Lee says he’d like to see the parent penalty tax eliminated in Trump tax plan

Sen. Mike Lee said Tuesday that he’d like to see the “parent penalty tax” eliminated in President Trump’s tax reform plan.

“I brought forward a proposal that I worked on with Sen. Marco Rubio and also with Ivanka Trump, that would end the parent tax penalty, and I hope that’s included in any package,” Mr. Lee, Utah Republican, said on Fox News.

The so-called parent penalty tax requires parents to contribute to senior entitlement programs on behalf of their children and themselves, meaning they pay twice. Mr. Lee says this is unfair to the parents since their children grow up and pay for those entitlement programs when they become taxpayers. His plan, the Family Fairness and Opportunity Tax Reform Act, would also give families a $2,500 tax credit per child in addition to eliminating the tax.

Ms. Trump has said previously that she’d like to see the child tax credit double and increase the amount to “the largest tax credit possible.” The current child tax credit is $1,000 per child. She made her pitch during a meeting with conservatives, including Mr. Lee, at the Americas for Tax Reform office last week.