Abstract
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 provided multiple tax subsidies to help individuals afford higher education. The Senate passed six similar proposals from 1967 to 1978, but all were voted down by Congress because legislators considered the subsidies too costly, complex, and inefficient. A decade later, this study considers whether the original opposition correctly predicted the downside of the education tax subsidies.The findings are: 1) lost revenues were less than predicted and this might even be lessened over time by having a more highly educated workforce earning higher incomes and thus, paying higher taxes; 2) college enrollments were found to have increased after the tax incentives became available, but whether this is a direct result of the tax incentives is undetermined; and 3) the AICPA agrees that the tax incentives are complex, but since professionals prepare the vast majority of tax returns, the added complexity is not believed to be an issue.
Recommended Citation
Lang, Teresa K. and Jones, Rita C.
(2013)
"A Look Back at the Education Tax Incentives of 1997 and 2001 - Concerns and the Actual Impact,"
Journal of Business, Industry, and Economics: Vol. 18, Article 9.
Available at:
https://roar.una.edu/jobie/vol18/iss1/9