Jamie Gass

Education tax credits don’t cost taxpayers a cent

/0 Comments/in , /by Jamie Gass and Charles Chieppo
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This op-ed has appeared in WGBH News, The Providence Journal, and Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

In a republic based on the consent of the governed, there is a strong public interest in having an educated citizenry. Yet in Massachusetts, the cradle of public schooling in America where the state constitution directs us to “cherish” education, we seem to dole out incentives for just about everything except education.

Consider the Race Horse Development Fund. Since 2014, the commonwealth has spent nearly $80 million to subsidize a horse racing industry that’s dying from the increasing availability of other forms of gambling. Since most of the fund’s money comes from a tax on Plainridge Park Casino revenue, it amounts to a transfer from gamblers, who tend to be low income, to wealthy race horse owners.

State taxpayers paid at least $80 million in fiscal 2019 for a film tax credit designed to encourage producers to make movies in Massachusetts. But a 2014 state Department of Revenue report cast doubt on the profitability of these credits. It found that only about a third of the spending generated and jobs created by the credits occurred in Massachusetts, and most of those jobs lasted less than three months — some for just a weekend. When you add it all up, the commonwealth paid well north of $100,000 for each job created.

All told, a state commission found that these so-called tax expenditures — exemptions, deductions, credits and deferrals designed to encourage certain activities or limit the burden on certain types of individuals or endeavors — accounted for about $26 billion in foregone revenue in 2013, or nearly two-thirds of the entire state budget at the time.  Many tax expenditures are well-founded, but it makes you wonder exactly what the commonwealth encourages and discourages, and how much it costs.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue may make it possible for Massachusetts to encourage education tax credits — and it wouldn’t cost taxpayers a penny.

Our nation’s founders clearly envisioned public support for a range of both religious and nonsectarian school options. That educationally pluralistic vison was widely accepted until the mid-19th century, when the Irish Potato Famine triggered a flood of Catholic immigrants to the United States. In a response based on nativism and anti-Catholic bigotry, during the mid-to-late 1800s, many states adopted so-called Anti-Aid Amendments to their constitutions that barred public support of the Catholic schools to which many Irish immigrants sent their children. Sadly, in 1855, the Know-Nothing Party made Massachusetts among the first states to adopt such an amendment.

Montana was another of the nearly 40 states that adopted an Anti-Aid Amendment.  There, Kendra Espinoza, a suddenly-single mom, sought a better education for her two daughters. In public schools, one daughter was bullied and the other struggled academically. Both would later thrive using Montana’s education tax credit program to attend a religious school.

The Montana Supreme Court cited the state’s Anti-Aid amendment when it invalidated the tax credit program, denying Espinoza access to funding her children needed.  But this June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the amendment as an example of unconstitutional discrimination against religious school parents who were benefiting from the credit.

Nearly 300,000 largely poor and minority students in 18 states, including Rhode Island, benefit from education tax credits. Under these programs, most of which are need-based, individuals and businesses receive tax credits for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations, which then provide scholarships that students use to attend the public, private or religious schools of their choice. More than 90% of parents with students in choice programs say they are satisfied with them.

It’s hardly a radical approach. While the programs grant tax credits for private donations, state and federal governments provide direct grants and loans to students who choose to go to Notre Dame, Yeshiva or a public university.  America’s choice-driven higher education system is the envy of the world.

An education tax credit program would, for example, allow more students to attend the commonwealth’s excellent Catholic schools, which have similar demographics but consistently outperform public schools, despite spending far less. Amid the pandemic, 4,000 more students are attending Archdiocese of Boston schools.

Espinoza makes education tax credit programs possible for many more students. If one is enacted in Massachusetts, it’s a pretty safe bet that it’ll deliver more bang for the buck than the Race Horse Development Fund or state taxpayers subsidizing Hollywood.

Charles Chieppo is a senior fellow and Jamie Gass is director of education research and policy at Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank.

Get Updates on Our Education Research

Stanford’s Arnold Rampersad on Jackie Robinson

Stanford University Prof. Arnold Rampersad, author of Jackie Robinson: A Biography, discusses the life and legacy of Robinson, the hall of fame baseball player and history-changing civil rights leader.

Pulitzer Winner Kai Bird on Robert Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb

Mr. Bird focuses on the life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, “father of the atomic bomb.” He discusses Oppenheimer's impact on history, his early life and education, and his academic achievements in quantum physics. Bird covers Oppenheimer's political views, relationships, as well as his leadership in the Manhattan Project and his role in the Trinity test.

Georgetown’s Dr. Marguerite Roza on Federal ESSER Funds & the Fiscal Cliff

Dr. Roza explores the complexities of education finance and its impact on American K-12 education. She outlines the three phases of school funding over the past 40 years and their effect on equity and student achievement. She highlights that only about half of the K-12 education dollars reach student instruction, with significant funds absorbed by the ever-expanding education bureaucracy.

Harlow Giles Unger on Patrick Henry & American Liberty

 Mr. Unger delves into the life of Patrick Henry as the country celebrates the Fourth of July. He explores Henry's early life, his rise as a lawyer and political figure, and his fiery opposition to British policies. Mr. Unger highlights Henry's famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech and his influential role as governor of Virginia, underscoring his enduring legacy in helping forge American independence. In closing, he reads a passage from his book, Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation. 

Prof. Joel Richard Paul on Daniel Webster, U.S. Senate, & “Liberty and Union”

Prof. Joel Richard Paul discusses the statesman Daniel Webster, highlighting his reputation as the "conscience of New England" and one of America's greatest orators. Prof. Paul shares that Webster, despite a modest upbringing, became a leading attorney whose arguments in landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases shaped constitutional law. 

Steven Wilson on Charter Public Schools

Mr. Wilson delves into his extensive background, including his tenure at Pioneer Institute, his work with Governor Bill Weld, and his contributions to the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act. Steven shares insights into the high academic expectations and success of Boston's charter schools, emphasizing the importance of recruiting and retaining quality teachers and principals.

Sheldon Novick on Henry James, American Women, & Gilded-Age Fiction

Mr. Novick discusses the complexities of Henry James’ life and writing career, highlighting his significant literary contributions, the influence of his family's intellectual legacy, and the realistic portrayal of social tensions in his works. Novick explores Henry James’ life experiences that shaped his novels like The Portrait of a Lady and The Golden Bowl. 

USAF Academy’s Jeanne Heidler on Henry Clay & Congressional Statesmanship

Dr. Heidler discusses Henry Clay's legacy as a seminal figure in American history. She covers Clay's early life, his transformation from a Virginia farm boy to a leading statesman, and his being mentored in the law by Founding Father, George Wythe.

Israeli Harvard Student Maya Shiloni on Campus Antisemitism

Kimberly Steadman of Edward Brooke on Boston’s Charter School Sector

Steadman reflects on her educational background and leadership in urban charter public schools. She discusses the importance of rigorous academic expectations for K-12 students, and how this outlook influences her educational philosophy co-directing the Brooke charter school network. Ms. Steadman shares the challenges faced by Massachusetts charters due to the post-2016 ballot loss, and how she and other charter public school leaders advance supportive policy reforms.

Cheryl Brown Henderson on the 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of the lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, explores her family's pivotal role in the Brown case, detailing her father’s part within the NAACP's wider legal strategy.

POLITICO’s Peter Canellos on Justice John Marshall Harlan & Plessy v. Ferguson

Mr. Canellos delves into Harlan's upbringing in a prominent slaveholding family, his Civil War service in the Union Army, and his rapid rise in Kentucky politics as a Republican. He highlights John Harlan’s mixed-race half-brother Robert Harlan and key legal precedents like the notorious Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which influenced Harlan's views on race and equality. 

Colonel Peter Hayden on U.S. Cyber Command & National Security

General Counsel of U.S. Cyber Command, Colonel Pete Hayden, shares insights about growing up in western Massachusetts, attending law school, his military service, and emphasizes the legal aspects of his national security work. Col. Hayden discusses Cyber Command's mission, distinguishing it from the NSA, while stressing the importance of defending the nation in cyberspace.

Hoover at Stanford’s Stephen Kotkin on Stalin’s Tyranny, WWII, & the Cold War

Dr. Stephen Kotkin explores Stalin's origins, consolidation of power, and his Communist despotism. Kotkin delves into Stalin's cunning political maneuvers, his complex relationships with other Soviet leaders like Lenin and Trotsky, and the devastating consequences of his regime, including the forced collectivization and mass starvation of millions.

Johns Hopkins’ Ashley Berner on Educational Pluralism & Democracy

Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Education Policy director, Dr. Ashley Berner discusses educational pluralism's role in improving K-12 performance, exploring European models and the impact of U.S. school choice programs. Dr. Berner analyzes universal ESAs and vocational-technical schooling, addressing persistent academic struggles and civic knowledge gaps.

39th U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky for National Poetry Month

 Boston University professor, Robert Pinsky discusses his memoir Jersey Breaks: Becoming an American Poet; the enduring influence of sacred texts like the Psalms; and the wide cultural significance of classic poets like Homer and Shakespeare.

U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Hilary Crow on K-12 Civics Education

U.S. Chamber Foundation VP, Hilary Crow discusses the state of K-12 civics, emphasizing the Chamber Foundation’s role in addressing America’s wide civic education deficits. Crow highlights a recent national civics survey, alarming civic literacy gaps, and links between political unrest and our nation’s educational shortcomings in K-12 civics.

UCLA’s Ronald Mellor on Tacitus, Roman Emperors, & Despotism

Dr. Mellor delves into the enduring influence of Tacitus, the great Roman historian, on both America’s Founding Fathers and contemporary understanding of politics and government. He discusses Tacitus's insights on the early Roman emperors, unchecked authority, moral judgment of leadership, and the decline of the Roman Republic, as well as ancient lessons for modern governance.