The White House on Monday reminded Americans that families would start receiving direct cash payments in their bank accounts starting in July, as President Joe Biden continues to implement his coronavirus rescue package.
“With today’s announcement, about 90 percent of families with children will get this new tax relief automatically, starting in July,” Biden said in a statement released to reporters on Monday morning, noting that the payments send Americans the message that “help is here” during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced Monday they would begin issuing the payments for families on July 15 and continue them on the 15th of each month.
The federal government will give a monthly payment of $300 per child under six and $250 per child older than six to families that qualify. The monthly benefits are reduced for couples earning more than $150,000 or individuals earning more than $75,000.
The money will be released to families whether they are employed or not, continuing a trend that analysts fear will slow some workers from returning to work as the coronavirus pandemic diminishes.
The additional cash will also boost inflation, which the White House hopes will be temporary as the economy recovers.
The White House said Friday they were surprised by the rise in consumer prices in March, the largest jump since 2008.
“So we hadn’t forecasted that. The forecasters hadn’t expected that,” White House Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse said to reporters at the daily press briefing.
She added the Federal Reserve was also “a bit surprised by the jump.”
Rouse said the White House expected “some choppiness” in the economic numbers as the pandemic ended and the economy continued its recovery.