Friday, March 05, 1999
Taft unveils college tax break
Plan would benefit 300,000 Ohioans
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Ohio families with a child in college could qualify for a state tax break worth up to $140 a year under a proposal unveiled Thursday by Gov. Bob Taft.
Calling Ohio's lack of skilled workers a threat to the state's economic health, Mr. Taft said the proposal could encourage more people to upgrade their job skills by attending college.
The tax break, estimated to cost $44.6 million during the next two years, is one of several higher education initiatives in Mr. Taft's first state budget proposal. About 300,000 Ohioans are expected to benefit.
While the overall budget won't be introduced until March 15, the governor said he also would propose increases in financial aid and grants to colleges and universities to curb tuition increases.
“When you talk about how we keep Ohio's prosperity advancing, one way to do that is by investing in higher education and encouraging more students to attend college,” Mr. Taft told reporters following an appearance at Columbus State Community College.
He noted 39 percent of Ohio's high school graduates have attended college, compared with 45 percent nationally.
In an effort to increase that number, his proposal would create a $2,500 state tax deduction per student during the first two years of college. Part-time students could claim the deduction over five years.
Single parents and students who make up to $50,000 and couples who make up to $100,000 would be eligible.
The actual value of the deduction would be less than $2,500 because it would reduce the taxable income of a parent or student.
For instance, by the time a family of four earning $40,000 a year completed their state tax return, the new deduction would save them $95 for each child in college, according to the governor's office.
The maximum tax break would be $140 per college student for a similar family earning $100,000 a year.
Mr. Taft may have made the proposal more attractive to legislators by making more Ohioans eligible for the tax break. When he first proposed the idea during the fall campaign, he proposed limiting it to families earning $50,000 or less.
Critics, though, said even the expanded tax break would be a meager offering for a state that has the ninth-highest average college tuition in the country.
“If we really want to make college affordable, we need to do much more than what the governor is talking about,” said state Rep. Catherine Barrett, D-Forest Park. “I don't see $95 as much of an incentive.”
Mr. Taft said his overall budget for public colleges and universities would jump 4.3 percent, to $2.4 billion, during the budget year beginning July 1. Higher education would receive a 4.2 percent budget increase the following year.
Student-aid grants, now capped at $4,428 for those attending private colleges and $1,782 for those in state-supported schools, would increase 5 percent during each of the next two years.
Moreover, the budget would boost tuition assistance to 70 percent from 60 percent for students who join the National Guard.
“I wish we could do more, but elementary and secondary education has to be our top priority,” Mr. Taft said.
Last week, a judge ruled the General Assembly must start over in attempting to comply with an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that struck down the way the state pays for elementary and secondary schools.
Mindful of the shock wave the court decision sent through the state's political establishment, most higher education leaders were happy the governor focused on their needs — at least for one day.
“The governor has once again reaffirmed his goal that Ohio must be a leader in the development of knowledge and technology,” said Tahlman Krumm, chairman of the Ohio Board of Regents. “Higher education is critical to meeting that goal.”
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