Governor Gets It Right: Education Tax Credit Needed

Ft. Hamilton Station, NY – The Conservative Party has long championed tax relief for the hard working taxpayers of New York. The Conservative Party has long been critical of the spending habits of the Legislature, and yes, we have been critical of the Governor’s spending habits as well.

However, today, Governor George E. Pataki did the right thing by using his veto pen to veto the phony education tax credit passed by the Legislature.

According to the July, 2005 Report to the Governor and the Legislature on the Status of the State’s Schools, in the 2003-04 school year, 3,283,218 children attended school. The Legislature granted the parents of all of these students a tax credit of approximately $330, with no stipulation that it must be used for education.

The original Education Tax Credit put forward was designed for parents investing in their children’s education above the taxes they are already paying for their children’s education.

Michael R. Long, State Chairman of the New York State Conservative Party stated that the Party “firmly believes that the parents of school age children are entitled to tax-relief if they are spending the money on educational needs. The language of the legislature was non-specific so parents could spend it on anything, including basketball, pizza or iPods.”

“Kudos’s to the Governor for getting this right,” said Long. “Now we have to believe that the Members of the Legislature will adopt a true educational tax credit to give some relief to parents taking the necessary steps in providing their children’s education,” Long concluded.

 

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