ATLANTA—Georgia State Representative David Casas (R-Lilburn) has proposed a state income tax credit for Georgia individuals and corporations if they donate to school-choice scholarship organizations.
The Tuition Tax Credit bill would enable individuals to contribute $1,000 and couples $2,500 annually to non-profits that offer scholarships to public school students to attend private schools. Corporations could also donate to the scholarship agencies.
“This is a way to provide more school choice in Georgia by allowing the private sector to aid parents and children who want an alternative other than their neighborhood public school,” said Casas, a public school teacher. “I can’t tell you how often I hear from parents that they want options other than the school in their immediate neighborhood.”
The tuition tax credit bill would have a $50 million annual cap in donations. The only students who could qualify for the scholarships would be children currently enrolled in public schools.
“If an individual taxpayer owes the state $1,000 in taxes, for example, he or she could instead donate to a non-profit that provides these scholarships,” Casas said. “The donation would be a credit toward taxes due the state.”
Tax-credit scholarship programs have been established in Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Rhode Island and have been very successful in generating private donations from individuals or corporations that wanted to support programs providing educational choice.
###