Low-income families who do not pay taxes, but who do pay for extracurricular activities, receive no benefit from the Arizona tax credit. All Minnesota parents of school age children can receive either a refundable tax credit or tax deduction for a broad range of educational expenses. A low-income family who does not pay taxes can receive a refund for qualifying expenses. Arizona s plan limits the tax credit to extracurricular expenses and only to those who owe taxes. Minnesota s plan is helpful to all families because it includes a much broader range of educational expenses including school supplies.
School supplies are expensive.
Parents are expected to pay for art fees, activity fees, technology fees, the cost of consumable workbooks, and supplemental reading books, just to name few. Minnesota does not allow a tax credit or tax deduction for expenses toward most extracurricular activities that are not considered academic or part of the core curriculum. An exception would be music lessons and rental of a musical instrument. Those who are avid believers in the parental right to choose the best education for one s child, believe that in an ideal world tax dollars would follow every child to any school the parent feels would best educate his child. However, differences in political philosophies, the public school financial structure, and the restrictions set forth in the Colorado Constitution for public aid to religious schools make it very difficult for such a lofty dream to come to pass.