Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed legislation expanding the state’s tax credit scholarship on the same day the Virginia legislature approved the state’s first tax credit scholarship.
Arizona’s new law allows an individual to contribute $500 to a nonprofit private-school scholarship fund and receive in return a credit to his state tax bill. Married couples can now take a $1,000 credit.
The state had already allowed corporations a $500 credit. Last year, Arizona tax credits for private school scholarships totaled $43.2 million.
Both houses of Virginia’s General Assembly narrowly approved measures to allow individuals and corporations to write off 65 percent of their donations to such scholarships, capping the amount these deductions would take from the state treasury to $25 million each year.
“This legislation will truly spur private-sector investment in education by encouraging individuals and corporations to give to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships for low-income students or students with disabilities to attend a nonpublic school,” said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).
The Virginia scholarships would be available to families that earn up to three times the poverty level income each year, or up to $69,150 for a family of four.
—Staff Reports
Image by Gage Skidmore.
