Tax credits; businesses providing assistance to low-income families, etc., in private schools. (SB241)
Introduced By
Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) with support from co-patron Sen. Dick Black (R-Leesburg)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
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Passed Committee |
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Passed House |
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Passed Senate |
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Signed by Governor |
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Became Law |
Description
Tax credits; assistance to low-income families, scholarships for K through 12 students attending private schools. Establishes a credit beginning in taxable year 2012 for certain business entities making monetary donations to nonprofit organizations providing education improvement scholarships to students whose family's annual household income is not in excess of 300 percent of the current poverty guidelines and certain students with disabilities, in order for them to attend nonpublic elementary or secondary schools. Nonprofit organizations to which donations are made would be required to distribute at least 90 percent of their tax-credit-derived funds in the form of scholarships to such students. The credit would equal 84 percent of the donation made by the business entity and any unused credit for the taxable year would be refundable. There is an annual cap of $50 million in tax credits for the scholarship program. The Department of Education would administer the tax credit program.
The bill also expands the current Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit program by increasing the tax credit percentage from 40 to 64 percent; expanding the eligibility criteria for programs qualifying for tax credits to encompass programs providing services to certain students with disabilities and individuals whose family's annual household income is not in excess of 300 percent of the poverty guidelines; and repealing the July 1, 2014, sunset for the program. Current law provides that programs qualifying for tax credits must provide services to individuals whose family's annual household income is not in excess of 200 percent of the current poverty guidelines. Read the Bill »
Status
02/14/2012: Merged into SB131
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 01/10/2012 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/12 |
| 01/10/2012 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/12 12100286D |
| 01/10/2012 | Referred to Committee on Finance |
| 02/07/2012 | Impact statement from TAX (SB241) |
| 02/14/2012 | Incorporated by Finance (SB131-Stanley) (15-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
Comments
Tax credits for K-12 private school attendance is a bad idea. Remember that a tax credit is actually a payment of money from the public purse. Taxes are collected across the income strata, and public schools are funded from taxes. This legislation shuttles public money to private purses, essentially giving another tax break to people who do not need it. I am opposed to it for two reasons:
1) While it is true that getting a good education should not depend on your zip code,this legislation will do just that. It will establish a two-tiered quasi-public school system in which the state, using tax money from everyone, will support private schools for some children and a lower tier of public schools for others. This is contrary to any sense of equal opportunity.
2)This legislation purports to give poor children entry into private schools. If it is passed, I do not believe that the school populations will change. The private schools need only raise their tuition to absorb the public money that will flow into them, and poor and middle-class children will still attend public schools.
We cannot afford to abandon Virginia's duty to all of our children, to educate them all -- this is a foundation stone of democracy, and an absolute necessity for the 21st century. We need to educate all of Virginia's children, not just those in certain zip codes or certain economic levels. Fix the public schools, don't make them a ghetto.