BOAST Maryland Tax Credit

UPDATE: The House Ways and Means Committee killed BOAST in an 11th hour vote on the last day of the legislative session. Read the bishops' statement on the vote.

See the breakdown of the Ways and Means Committee vote on BOAST.

Send an e-mail to say thanks to BOAST supporters in the House.

Send an e-mail to express disappointment to legislators who voted against BOAST.

The BOAST Maryland Tax Credit (SB 385/HB 946) is designed to provide Maryland's schools with a means of leveraging significantly increased investment from local businesses. It will encourage donations to increase scholarships for Catholic school students, provide grants for Catholic school teachers, and stabilize enrollment at Catholic schools. It will also provide increased support for public school students through tutoring, mentoring, arts, environmental, and life skills programs.

The initiative would allow businesses to claim a state income tax credit (rather than a charitable deduction) for donations to organizations that support Maryland's K-12 nonpublic and public school students and teachers. In recognition of the state's tight budget situation, it has been introduced in 2010 without funding and with a focus on administrative authorization.

The table below highlights the savings provided by Maryland's Catholic schools in the 2009-2010 school year alone. The savings are calculated by multiplying enrollment by the state's average per-pupil expenditure in public schools. The most recent figure of per-pupil expenditure in public schools was $12,508 from the 2007-2008 school year.