REFERENCE TITLE: public schools; tax credit

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-second Legislature

First Regular Session

2015

 

 

HB 2198

 

Introduced by

Representatives Sherwood, Friese

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending section 43-1089.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to tax credits.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 43-1089.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE43-1089.01.  Tax credit; public school fees and contributions; definitions

A.  A credit is allowed against the taxes imposed by this title for the amount of any fees or cash contributions by a taxpayer or on the taxpayer's behalf pursuant to section 43‑401, subsection G during the taxable year to a public school located in this state for curricula and materials for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics programs, or for the support of extracurricular activities or character education programs of the public school, but not exceeding:

1.  Two hundred dollars for a single individual or a head of household.

2.  Three hundred dollars in taxable year 2005 for a married couple filing a joint return.

3.  Four hundred dollars in taxable year 2006 and any subsequent taxable year for a married couple filing a joint return.

B.  A husband and wife who file separate returns for a taxable year in which they could have filed a joint return may each claim only one‑half of the tax credit that would have been allowed for a joint return.

C.  The credit allowed by this section is in lieu of any deduction pursuant to section 170 of the internal revenue code and taken for state tax purposes.

D.  If the allowable tax credit exceeds the taxes otherwise due under this title on the claimant's income, or if there are no taxes due under this title, the taxpayer may carry the amount of the claim not used to offset the taxes under this title forward for not more than five consecutive taxable years' income tax liability.

E.  The site council of the public school that receives contributions that are not designated for a specific purpose shall determine how the contributions are used at the school site.  If a charter school does not have a site council, the principal, director or chief administrator of the charter school shall determine how the contributions that are not designated for a specific purpose are used at the school site.  If at the end of a fiscal year a public school has unspent contributions that were previously designated for a specific purpose or program and that purpose or program has been discontinued or has not been used for two consecutive fiscal years, these contributions shall be considered undesignated in the following fiscal year for the purposes of this subsection. 

F.  A public school that receives fees or a cash contribution pursuant to subsection A of this section shall report to the department, in a form prescribed by the department, by February 28 of each year the following information:

1.  The total number of fee and cash contribution payments received during the previous calendar year.

2.  The total dollar amount of fees and cash contributions received during the previous calendar year.

3.  The total dollar amount of fees and cash contributions spent by the school during the previous calendar year, categorized by specific extracurricular activity or character education program, or the total spent for curricula and materials for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics programs.

G.  For the purposes of this section:

1.  "Character education programs" means a program described in section 15‑719.

2.  "Extracurricular activities" means school-sponsored activities that require enrolled students to pay a fee in order to participate, including fees for:

(a)  Band uniforms.

(b)  Equipment or uniforms for varsity athletic activities.

(c)  Scientific laboratory materials.

(d)  In‑state or out‑of‑state trips that are solely for competitive events.  Extracurricular activities do not include any senior trips or events that are recreational, amusement or tourist activities.

3.  "Public school" means a school that is part of a school district, a joint technical education district or a charter school. END_STATUTE