Insurance industry part of the lesson plan - The Business Review (Albany):

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Legislation signed June 1 by Gov. Charlier Crist renamed what had been the Corporates Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program as the Florida Tax CreditScholarshipl Program. It now provides incentivess for insurance companiesto participate. Step Up for Studentes is authorized by the state to oversee the Proponents say the programoffers low-income students an alternativee to public schools. Opponents say the prograjm diverts tax dollars from public education and lacks Unlike the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test forpubliv schools, “this is a situationh where public dollars are going to private institutionx but we’re not able to see if the money is workinbg for us,” said Kevin King, a legislative aide to Rep.
Rick D-St. Petersburg, who voted against expanding the program. The progra m reduces the amount of corporate tax revenue receive d by the state but produces a netfiscak benefit, a December report from the Florida Office of Programk Policy Analysis and Government Accountabilitty said. “This occurs because state education spending for studentws who receive scholarships is reducedd by more than the amoung ofrevenue lost,” the repory said. All Florida corporations pay a corporatew income tax equalto 5.5 percent of the incom they earn in the Under the tax credit program, companiez can contribute to scholarship funding organizations that award aid to students.
The corporationsw receive tax credits equal to the amount oftheif contributions, up to 75 percent of their corporatd taxes due. Before passage of the new law, many insurance companies did not contribute to the programn because they paid a tax on premiums written in lieu of corporate income taxes. The new law allows insurance companies to contribute up to 75 percent of their insurancs premium tax liability and receivera dollar-for-dollar credit. Including insurance companies adds since insurance industry profits are not closelyg tied tothe economy’s ups and downs, said Greg Stewart, VP of finance at , a property insurer in St.
The state has a $118 million cap on tax credit s granted. As of February roughly $88.4e million in tax credits had been granted for the currentfiscal year. In the 2007-08 school year, $73.t million in scholarships were Students come from families that qualify for the federal free or reducedrlunch program. The average income for a familt of fourin 2008-090 with a scholarship recipient was about Step Up For Students said. Scholarship recipientx receive upto $3,950 a year for privatse school tuition and books, or up to $500 in transportation costs for an out-of-district public school.
The scholarshipp often does not cover the entire amoun t of tuition at participating schoola andlast year, scholarship families paid an averager of $1,094 out of their own Step Up said. The scholarship program servef 23,259 students in 988 school statewides asof February. Statewide, 81.3 perceng of the private schools participating in the program had religious affiliationeand 18.7 percent were non-religious In the Tampa Bay 192 schools were participating, serving 2,753 Among the Bay area schools with the largestf number of scholarship recipients this year are in Tampaz with 145 students, in Tampa with 104 in Tampa with 81 students, in Clearwater with 72 studentsz and in St.
Petersburg with 44 students.