Your Help Needed: Take Action Now
Your help in halting the two provision changes noted below is essential. You can easily contribute your voice by using the Council for American Private Education’s (CAPE’s) advocacy action alert here. You can easily edit the CAPE message to include details about Wisconsin and your family’s experience. The process only takes a few minutes.
Two changes to provisions in the proposed federal tax reform bill would have negative consequences for private schools and their families.
The first provision impacts Section 117 of the Tax Code, which allows for discounted tuition provided by a school or diocese/jurisdiction to children of an employee to be excluded from income as an untaxed benefit. The House tax reform bill would remove this provision, while the Senate’s version would not change it.
If this provision is removed, some private school employees may be discouraged from having their children attend the school where they work since discounted tuition from their school would be counted towards their income. This provision helps many private schools stay competitive with local districts by attracting and retaining faculty and staff.
The second provision impacts Section 127 of the Tax Code, which incentivizes companies to offer private school students one work day a week in exchange for a portion of the student’s tuition as salary. The House bill would remove this provision, while the Senate’s version would not.
This is a life-changing opportunity for many students and their families and could make it difficult for students to continue attending the school of their choice.
The intention of these tax reforms is aimed at college tuition, however members of Congress should be informed that there are unintended consequences associated with repealing these provisions.
You can also add your voice by sending a letter via email to Wisconsin’s senators and your representative or by calling their offices. Contact information for each is listed below. A sample letter can be found here.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 224-5323.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D): You can send a message to her office by completing this form, or by calling her Washington office at (202) 224-5653.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-0600.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-2906.
Rep. Ron Kind (D): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-5506.
Rep. Gwen Moore (D): You can send a message to her office by completing this form, or by calling her Washington office at (202) 225-4572.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-5101.
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-2476.
Rep. Sean Duffy (R): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-3365.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R): You can send a message to his office by completing this form, or by calling his Washington office at (202) 225-5665.
Catholic school supporters can also use the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Action Center here, to quickly send a message to their Senators and Representatives.
