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Statements of fact and opinion are the authors’ responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of PICPA officers or members. The information contained in herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For professional advice, please engage or consult a qualified professional.
It’s Not Good Business to Leave $20 Million Unclaimed
By Maureen Renzi, PICPA Vice President of Communications
As the debate on how to fund education goes on in Pennsylvania and students across the state are struggling academically, I was surprised to learn that millions of education dollars are left on the table each year. That money is in the form of unclaimed Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits (OSTC). Unlike the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) that is usually over-subscribed, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) anticipates that as much as $20 million of OSTC credits could remain unclaimed.
The OSTC is a fairly new credit, signed into law in July 2012. This credit supports students whose neighborhood public schools are low-achieving. Some believe that businesses are not yet familiar with this new opportunity to help students who reside within the attendance boundary of the lowest performing 15 percent of public schools in the state. There is a surprising number of nonpublic schools also eligible for OSTC.
One of the schools on the list is St. Martin de Porres, a school I have written /articles/cpa-now-blog/cpa-now/2013/10/28/diversity-in-the-accounting-profession-one-student-at-a-time about in the past because of the efforts of PICPA’s Diversity Committee. I decided to reach out to Bob Morrison, director of development, to find out how this school uses OSTC.
Bob described the program as, “ground breaking on many levels.” Scholarships are awarded to 98 percent of students and on average, students receive $1,363 as a result of the EITC and OSTC programs. This allows the school to keep tuition affordable in this distressed community and also allow them to add programs such as the advanced math program, which is the group PICPA’s Diversity Committee works with and is described in this video.
From one student’s perspective, this translates into a life-changing experience. Take the story of Dayonna* who was far behind her classmates academically when she started in kindergarten at St. Martin dePorres School She needed years of special support in basic reading, math, and problem solving to overcome her difficulties. Next month, Dayonna graduates eighth grade, having earned scholarships covering nearly 75 percent of her tuition to a top high school in North Philadelphia – Mercy Vocational High School. She will be joining other graduates who are headed to a variety of prep schools and private academies, including, Malvern Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep, Merion Mercy, Roman Catholic, Bishop McDevitt Cristo Rey Little Flower, and more.
CPAs have a great opportunity to have a discussion with their clients, and to look at their own firms, to see how they can take advantage of this opportunity. For the details, visit DCED’s website. For specific state tax guidance, take a sneak peak at the State and Local Tax column that will appear in the summer issue of the Pennsylvania CPA Journal. You’ll need to act quickly to take advantage of OSTC this year! The application deadline is June 30.
Seems to me that it’s good business to make an investment in education that costs as little at 6.5 cents per dollar. It also seems to me that an investment in education is being a good citizen.
*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the student and his/her family.
As the debate on how to fund education goes on in Pennsylvania and students across the state are struggling academically, I was surprised to learn that millions of education dollars are left on the table each year. That money is in the form of unclaimed Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits (OSTC). Unlike the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) that is usually over-subscribed, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) anticipates that as much as $20 million of OSTC credits could remain unclaimed.
The OSTC is a fairly new credit, signed into law in July 2012. This credit supports students whose neighborhood public schools are low-achieving. Some believe that businesses are not yet familiar with this new opportunity to help students who reside within the attendance boundary of the lowest performing 15 percent of public schools in the state. There is a surprising number of nonpublic schools also eligible for OSTC.
One of the schools on the list is St. Martin de Porres, a school I have written /articles/cpa-now-blog/cpa-now/2013/10/28/diversity-in-the-accounting-profession-one-student-at-a-time about in the past because of the efforts of PICPA’s Diversity Committee. I decided to reach out to Bob Morrison, director of development, to find out how this school uses OSTC.
Bob described the program as, “ground breaking on many levels.” Scholarships are awarded to 98 percent of students and on average, students receive $1,363 as a result of the EITC and OSTC programs. This allows the school to keep tuition affordable in this distressed community and also allow them to add programs such as the advanced math program, which is the group PICPA’s Diversity Committee works with and is described in this video.
From one student’s perspective, this translates into a life-changing experience. Take the story of Dayonna* who was far behind her classmates academically when she started in kindergarten at St. Martin dePorres School She needed years of special support in basic reading, math, and problem solving to overcome her difficulties. Next month, Dayonna graduates eighth grade, having earned scholarships covering nearly 75 percent of her tuition to a top high school in North Philadelphia – Mercy Vocational High School. She will be joining other graduates who are headed to a variety of prep schools and private academies, including, Malvern Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep, Merion Mercy, Roman Catholic, Bishop McDevitt Cristo Rey Little Flower, and more.
CPAs have a great opportunity to have a discussion with their clients, and to look at their own firms, to see how they can take advantage of this opportunity. For the details, visit DCED’s website. For specific state tax guidance, take a sneak peak at the State and Local Tax column that will appear in the summer issue of the Pennsylvania CPA Journal. You’ll need to act quickly to take advantage of OSTC this year! The application deadline is June 30.
Seems to me that it’s good business to make an investment in education that costs as little at 6.5 cents per dollar. It also seems to me that an investment in education is being a good citizen.
*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the student and his/her family.
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