Court decision deals blow to tuition tax credits

by David Safier

Wednesday's ruling by the 9th Circuit Court could hurt the tuition tax credit program, but since the wheels of justice turn slow, it could still be years before it has any effect.

Basically, the 9th Circuit agreed with a previous ruling which said the tuition tax credit scholarships are too heavily weighted toward religious schools. Since many of the Student Tuition Organizations (STOs) only give scholarships to religious based schools,

"85 percent or more of the state financed scholarship money is available only to students whose parents are willing to send them to sectarian institutions. If these facts are proved true, the Arizona Department of Revenue's execution of the scholarship program (Section 1089) violates the Establishment Clause," the judges wrote Wednesday.

One important fact isn't mentioned in the article. About 80% of Arizona's private schools are sectarian, and the figure is similar nationwide. This is one of those secrets hiding in plain sight. If you support vouchers or back door vouchers tuition tax credits, you're for funneling the lion's share of the tax dollars (yes, tuition tax credits are tax dollars even if they're not actually collected, since they come from money that would otherwise go to the general fund) to religious institutions. I have a real problem with that.

What's the next step? Either the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case, or it goes back to the 9th Circuit Court.