Testimony on HB 4072 — Education Tax Credit
Written Testimony of Michigan Catholic Conference
13 February 2002
House Bill 4072
House Tax Policy Committee
Good morning. Madam Chair, members of the committee,
I am here today on behalf of the Michigan Catholic Conference, the public policy voice for the Catholic Church in Michigan. The Michigan Association of Non Public Schools joins in this testimony.
Approximately 80% of Catholic school age children attend public schools in Michigan. As such, the Bishops of Michigan have a deep and abiding interest in the performance of all students and all schools in the state of Michigan. Accompanying this interest is the belief that educational foundations and continuing education, adult education and community education programs serve a very legitimate and necessary purpose within the entire education spectrum.
With that said, we strongly oppose the creation of a tax credit for a qualified contribution to an “educational facility or organization” specifically defined as one that “exclusively dedicated all funds, gifts and bequests to a school district or public school academy or foundationÉ”
This tax policy further tilts the playing field between non-public schools and public schools in favor of public schools by allowing a tax credit for contributions that would supplement the annual $14 billion budget our state-run schools already receive.
Many Catholic schools rely on individual and corporate donations without the benefit of the donor receiving a tax credit. Passage of these bills would incentivize giving to educational foundations that exclusively support public schools potentially to the detriment of non-public schools. This represents poor public policy with its attempt to pick winners and losers. It is a misuse of tax incentives to assist a system of schooling that will receive $6700.00 in per pupil foundation grant money in 2002-03.
If the goal is to assist school districts with infrastructure, technology and maintenance needs, a more reasonable and fair approach would be to repeal the sales and use tax on school repair and construction materials, a tax that currently burdens schools that are seeking to upgrade in these areas.
The Michigan Catholic Conference would support an equitable tax policy that would allow parents, individuals and businesses to receive a tax credit for any educational contribution, whether public or private. The remedy would be to remove the exclusivity provision in the current bill and allow for a tax credit to any educational foundation that dedicated funds, gifts and bequests to any school in the state.
