EITC: Educational Improvement Tax Credit

What is EITC?
Enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 2001, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) provides a tax credit to businesses that pay Pennsylvania's corporate income tax for contributions to scholarship organizations that give private-school scholarships to eligible children. Approximately 44,000 scholarships were awarded in the 2007-08 school year.

The EITC program enables a Pennsylvania business to direct up to $300,000 of its Pennsylvania state tax dollars directly to Penn Charter's scholarship program. Tax credits are given for 75 percent of a one-year gift and 90 percent of gifts given in two consecutive years.

Eligibility
Businesses authorized to operate in Pennsylvania and subject to one or more of the following taxes: Corporate Net Income Tax; Capital Stock Franchise Tax, Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax; Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax; Insurance Premiums Tax; Mutual Thrift Institution Tax and Personal Income Tax of S Corporation Shareholderes, or partners in a general or limited partnership 

Benefits to Penn Charter
Penn Charter seeks to be a richly diverse school community: racially, religiously, economically, ethnically and socially. In our curriculum, we work to widen our embrace of a plurality of cultures and to celebrate the voices of both women and men. The EITC program offsets financial aid expenses, helping Penn Charter maintain and increase its diversity.

In the 2008-09 school year, $221,600 was gifted to Penn Charter through the EITC program. This money alleviated the school's financial aid expenses and made it possible to fund other projects and improvements throughout the school.

Get Involved
It is not too late to join the EITC program for the 2009-10 school year! Simply complete the one-page application found in the EITC Business Guidelines posted on newpa.com. Two to three weeks after you mail the application to the state at the address provided on the website, you will hear whether you have been approved to join the program.

For more information on the EITC program, please contact Kim Grant at 215-844-3460, ext. 276 or kbgrant@penncharter.com.