New York, NY – School finances rely on property taxes, and those taxes have risen steadily despite debate over how to curb costs. Here, three writers suggest novel ways to ease the tax bite and lower school costs.
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One way to boost public school funding is to raise donations as colleges do.
Why not allow principals and school boards to solicit gifts from individuals and corporations? In return, donors could claim a credit on state income tax returns.
Two New York State legislators have introduced the Educational Tax Incentives Act, which would permit exactly this.
This law would give a tax credit worth half the donation, with a maximum gift of $140 for personal tax returns and $4,000 for taxpayers who file a corporate franchise tax return, as well as for those with S corporations, limited liability partnerships and other such business arrangements.
The bill’s sponsors, Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Queens) and Assemb. Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), estimate donations of $50 million in the first year. Assuming that 80 percent of it goes to public schools, this would result in an additional $40 million for those schools. The cost to the state, in tax credits, is $25 million in lost revenue. But this is $15 million less than if Albany were to give the same amount to schools directly.[newsday]
