Signing and Saving for the Future: Oregon Enacts a Refundable Tax Credit for College Savings
October 1, 2019
On September 17th, Oregon State Governor Kate Brown signed into law the Education Savings Credit that allows families to receive a tax credit of up to $300 for contributions to a college savings plan. The Educational Savings Credit makes Oregon the first state to enact a refundable tax credit for contributions to a college savings plan. Governor Brown was joined by MAP’s State Future Caucus Network Director Cherisse Eatmon, Oregon State Future Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Julie Fahey, Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read and Rep. Jack Zika for the signing ceremony.
Prior to the bill signing, the Oregon Future Caucus worked alongside Treasurer Read to gain enough momentum to pass the bipartisan bill through Oregon’s legislature. In addition to issuing a letter of support for the legislation, the Oregon Future Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Julie Fahey and Sen. Dallas Heard testified in support of the bill.
The Educational Savings Credit fully encompasses MAP’s mission to create and pass bipartisan legislation while addressing issues impacting Millennials. Student debt has become one of the most pressing issues for Millennials and also one of the least addressed. The hope of the Educational Savings Credit is to not only encourage families to invest for their children’s education, but also to inspire other states to follow suit and create a tax credit of their own.
Recently, during the YPs Engage in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Future Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Amanda Stuck (D-WI) said that she was working with her colleagues to create a bill similar to the one Oregon just signed into law. MAP is continuing to work with other State Future Caucus’ to address the problem of student debt and be able to assist in creating bipartisan legislation to benefit the younger generation. This cross-pollination of ideas from state-to-state exemplifies the goals of the State Future Caucus Network to address policy from different perspectives while planning for next generations in the process.
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