Kevin McCarthy mistakenly attributes a 19-year-old's poster promoting the child tax credit to the IRS

Kevin McCarthy criticized the IRS for wasting taxpayer dollars on a poster promoting the child tax credit.
But 19-year-old college student Tobin Stone actually made the poster - not the IRS.
Democrats are pushing for an expansion of the credit while GOP members largely oppose it.
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy blamed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for wasting taxpayer dollars on a poster promoting the child tax credit. But the IRS actually didn't make the poster - a 19-year-old college student did.

In a now-deleted Facebook post on Wednesday, McCarthy posted a photo of a poster that college student Tobin Stone created promoting the child tax credit, which is a monthly credit given to families with children. McCarthy attributed the poster to the IRS, though, and criticized the agency for wasting taxpayer dollars on a "government handout."

"Infuriating," McCarthy wrote. "The IRS is literally spending taxpayer money to advertise a government handout. This is welfare without the work requirements."

-Tobin Stone (@tobinjstone) June 23, 2021

Stone, a political science and public policy student at Albright College in Pennsylvania, told Forbes he's been a "big fan" of the child tax credit ever since it was introduced, which is why he created the poster that he first tweeted out in April.

McCarthy has not yet publicly commented on mistakenly attributing the poster to the IRS, but some Democrats were quick to notice the minority leader's error. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, for example, wrote on Twitter that the "IRS had nothing to do with [the poster], but the enhanced Child Tax Credit WILL put money in the pockets of working families, no thanks to @GOPLeader who voted against it."

-Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) June 23, 2021

Beyer's is referring to President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus law, which increased the child tax credit's amount to $3,600 per child age 5 and under, and $3,000 for every kid between 6 and 17. It gives families the option to receive a monthly payment of $250 or $300 depending on each child's age, and individuals earning below $75,000 and couples making under $150,000 qualify for the full checks.

Not a single Republican voted for Biden's stimulus law, but even so, some Republicans, including McCarthy, have been promoting elements of it.

With regard to the child tax credit, Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported earlier this month that some centrist senators might stand in the way of a permanent expansion of the credit, which 41 Democratic senators had previously called for.

But Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, one of the architects of the credit, told Insider he had spoken to some moderates and continues to stress the benefits it will have on American families.

"It's going to be an amazing moment in modern America where people actually see themselves and their families benefiting dramatically from something that we've done in Washington DC," Bennet said in an interview. "It's going to make a huge difference to people."

McCarthy's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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