Education tax credit gets boost from private schools

By Marian A. Maraya

Staff Reporter

A proposed legislation seeking to grant tuition tax credit to elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth has drawn support from private schools, citing its advantages to both educational institutions and parents in the Northern Marianas.

Authored by Rep. William S. Torres, the Education Tuition Tax Credit proposal was envisioned to provide “qualified” schools incentives for their contributions to uplift the quality of education in the Commonwealth.

During a public hearing held at the House chamber yesterday, private school officials recognized the proposed legislation’s merits, noting that it would enable CNMI parents to place their children on a school they think would best provide the students’ educational needs.

Northern Marianas Academy Director Sandy McKenzie said the bill has “potentials” especially with the hard economic times.

The administration of Mount Carmel School also expressed full support for the proposed initiative, citing that it could assist parents explore other educational options for their children outside public school education.

“Given the current state of the economy, many parents are finding it difficult to afford education outside public education. This initiative could go a long way towards further improvement of our education system,” said Galvin Guerrero, MCS Director for Development.

Golden Harvest International School, in a written testimony, also aired support for the bill, saying that it would give parents more choices as students also stand to benefit greatly through exposure to quality instruction under a an ideal class ratio setting.

But concerns were raised on the legislation’s vagueness to provide concrete definitions of “qualified” educational institutions and the actual availment of tax incentives.

Marianas Baptist Academy principal Robert L. Berkey said the Legislature still needs to clear what constitutes a “qualified” institution and what official or body should be deemed competent to resolve any dispute that might arise over the interpretation of the definition.

Asst. Attorney General Elliot Sattler also pointed out certain inadequacies and insufficiencies in the legislation, advising House leaders to consult with the Division of Revenue and Taxation to plug in loopholes under the bill, especially pertaining to the credit determination and tax liability.

Section 6 of the bill states that the amount of the credit shall be equal to a percentage of the amount paid by the taxpayer for tuition to a private elementary or secondary school, including a charter school for any dependent claimed by the taxpayer.

A taxpayer may take credit for each dependent that it pays elementary or secondary private school including a charter school tuition during a taxable year for which the individual income tax return filed but the total shall not be more than $3,000 in any one taxable year, according to the proposed legislation.