Gottlob, Brian.

Abstract: This study seeks to inform the debate over a proposal in Maryland to give tax credits to businesses for contributions to organizations that provide scholarships to K-12 private schools or which contribute to innovative educational programs in the public schools. The study constructs a model to determine the fiscal impact of a tax-credit scholarship program on the state and on local school districts. The author and his colleagues estimate the impact that the scholarship portion of the tax-credit program will have on the distribution of students between public and private schools in Maryland by estimating the likely transfer of students from public to private schools depending on the average dollar value of scholarships. They use these estimates to determine the impact that tax-credit scholarships will have on state education aid to school districts and to calculate the "break-even" rate of transfer, or the number of public school students who would have to transfer to private schools in response to the scholarship program, in order to make the tax-credit scholarship program (both the scholarship and innovative education program for public schools portions) fiscally neutral from the perspective of Maryland state government. They compare the revenue and expenditure impacts of the scholarship and contributions for innovative educational programs on school districts to determine the net impact of the tax-credit program on school district finances and the resources available to educate each child in Maryland's public schools. In addition to expanding educational opportunities to Maryland families of limited means (improving the equity of its education system) and providing funding for innovative educational programs in the public schools, the Building Opportunities for all Students and Teachers (BOAST) tax-credit program will generate fiscal benefits for local school districts, increasing the available resources for students who remain in public schools. Because much of their revenue does not vary with enrollment, school districts will retain much of the funding associated with students who use scholarships to transfer from public to private schools. The overall impact on public schools would be to increase the financial resources available per student. Depending on a few key program variables and design elements, the BOAST proposal can also result in large fiscal savings to the state budget.

总结：本研究旨在告知争论在美国马里兰州的建议给予税收抵免的企业，以提供奖学金给K-12私立学校或在公办学校的创新教育计划促进组织的捐款。该研究构建了一个模型来确定纳税信用奖学金项目对国家和地方学区的财政影响。笔者和他的同事估计的影响，税收信贷计划的奖学金部分将对公立学校和私立学校在马里兰州的学生分布估计学生从公立根据平均美元价值可能转移到私立学校奖学金。他们利用这些估计，以确定影响税收，信贷奖学金将对国家教育援助，学区和计算“盈亏平衡”速度转移。

来源：Foundation for Educational Choice. 49 pp