Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) had a lot to say about educational funding at the April 19 House Revenue and Finance Committee hearing.
HB4376 is of utmost importance to parents across the state who are “sometimes people of faith and many times of no faith,” according to Breen, who began explaining the first of two private and public school funding bills and recent changes to federal tax code 529, which was once just applied to college tuition and now has expanded to all levels of education.
The bill, if passed, would allow the same flexibility other states have, according to Breen, who said the legislation conforms Illinois statue to federal law for educational contributions based on allowable tax deductions.
Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard)
Rep. David Harris (R-Arlington Heights) questioned the bill’s language rightfully conforming to federal regulations.
“Our definition no longer tracks with the federal definition,” Breen said. “But, we would be adding the catch all at the end so if the feds think it is a qualified expense, we would think it is a qualified expense.”
More concerned with numbers than language, Rep. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) asked how much the bill could affect taxpayers. Breaking it down to each household, Breen said it comes to $50 per child, which is a “tiny” amount in the overall picture.
Agreeing it is a diminutive figure, Martwick asked Breen if Illinois isn't already suffering debt by a 1,000 cuts.
“We are a broke state; we are running budget deficits; and we are on a path to fiscal instability and insolvency,” Martwick said, adding though he believes in private schooling since he attended one as an adolescent, it does not change that the state cannot afford to further assist parochial education.
“We are responding to federal government changes,” Breen explained. “If we don’t respond to the change, Illinois parents using our plan will have no reason to use our plan against Missouri’s plan or any other of the 25 states.”
Also based on educational contributions, Breen presented HB4563, which would amend the Invest in Kids Act to clarify the term “contributions” to apply to any financial support for school funding and not just college scholarships as it stands now.
“We have an agreement in principle with the General Assembly, at least in the House, that we should do something to assist folks in Illinois in being able to deduct their income and property taxes above $10,000,” Breen said.
That can be done by either setting up a fund within the government, Breen said, or by using a third party including a 501C3 organization. He said the issue of choosing either or is not a matter of a preferred political party, it is a matter of tax law.
Choosing the later, Breen created a bill that amends Invest in Kids and expands it to public education, noting “by doing a SALT (state and local tax) workaround, we put billions of dollars back in Illinoisans' pockets that they can spend here.”
After Harris confirmed that the bill would apply to public education funds, Martwick questioned if the legislation alters the percentage of public school tax credits, but keeps private school tax credits the same.
“You can do movement there, but the concept is to give it to the C3, which supports public education and then get your credit back from the state in some amount,” Breen said.
No action was taken on either bill.
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