State Representative Scott Dianda (D-Calumet) co-sponsored legislation yesterday that would create a tax credit for Michigan teachers who use their own money to stock their classrooms with supplies. House Bill 4146 allows teachers to receive up to a $1,000 tax credit for a single return or $2,000 for a joint return on classroom supplies used specifically “for educational purposes that directly relate to the taxpayer’s classroom coursework.”
“Our schools have had to do more with less in the classroom after Republicans diverted $2 billion from the School Aid Fund over two years,” said Dianda. “Our dedicated school teachers end up having to buy basic school supplies with their own salaries that are also dwindling. On top of the need to invest more in education in our state, we need to invest in our quality educators, and this tax credit will ease some of their added financial burden.”
HB 4146 would apply to tax years after Dec. 31, 2012. It has been referred to the House Committee on Tax Policy and is awaiting a second reading