(The Center Square) — Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit could save the state and native faculty districts millions of bucks in bills.
However, the Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts could now not decide the precise fiscal have an effect on as a result of the “switcher rate” — the choice of scholarship recipients who would have attended a public faculty with no Student Scholarship Organizations scholarship — is unknown.
The state created the QEEC in 2008 with House Bill 1133, which additionally opened the door to SSOs to regulate donations and award scholarships. The QEEC permits Georgia taxpayers — each company and particular person — to earn a “dollar-for-dollar tax credit” for contributing to organizations that award scholarships to personal faculty scholars.
In 2022, 18,743 scholarships have been awarded, with a mean award of kind of $4,400.
According to the audit, if 67% of the scholars with a scholarship switched from a public faculty to a non-public one, the state would save kind of $81 million in public education prices. It would additionally offset the forgone earnings of $81 million projected for 2021 contributions.
However, if the switcher price hits 90%, the QEEC will cut back expenditures by way of kind of $109 million, resulting in kind of $28 million in internet value financial savings.
In addition, with a 67% switcher price for 2021 contributions, the native financial savings would hit $24.8 million, however that quantity could building up to $33.4 million according to a 90% switcher price.
One main Georgia lawmaker lauded the audit’s findings.
The “economic analysis by the state of Georgia verifies the incredible costs savings of the program,” Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, mentioned in a statement. “Georgia parents already knew that this was an excellent opportunity for meeting their children’s educational needs. Now, we have a true economic analysis which proves the tax credit is also a winner for Georgia taxpayers.”
In 2022, Georgia lawmakers authorized House Bill 517 to boost the prohibit on the state’s tax credit scholarship program and the tax incentives for individuals who donate to the program.
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