Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced the School District Sponsorship Credit Bill, a tax credit aimed at generating private sector funding for the School District of Philadelphia.
The bill offers a one dollar credit off of the Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT) for every five donated to the School District of Philadelphia through a “contribution agreement.” The business must agree to contribute a set amount of money to the District. For budget planning purposes, the tax credit would be initially capped at five million dollars per fiscal year, beginning with FY 16, (July 1, 2015-June 30 2016) with contributions taken on a “first come-first served” basis.
“In our ongoing effort to generate new innovative school funding solutions, we offer this exciting opportunity for businesses to lower their tax burden by contributing to our public schools. Simply put, if you donate one million dollars to the School District of Philadelphia, you will see a $200,000 reduction on your business taxes” said Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown. “This bill allows us to turn five million General Fund dollars into twenty five million School District dollars with the help of our business community.
She continued, “We consistently hear the plea from business leaders that education is the number one challenge facing our City. Philadelphia businesses men and women want a pipeline of trained and capable graduates who are ready and equipped to join the workforce and ultimately grow our tax base. Finally, it is my hope that we max out the one million dollar tax credit, and would then look toward raising the cap.”
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