The New Jersey School Boards Association is advising its members to contact their Congressional representatives and urge them to oppose H.R. 1, “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” which the House of Representatives may consider this week.
Members can find further information about the proposed tax plan in a November 13 letter to the members of New Jersey’s Congressional delegation from NJSBA Executive Director Dr. Lawrence Feinsod.
Of major concern are provisions limiting the deductibility of state and local taxes. In addition, the legislation would eliminate advance refunding of construction bonds (a process that provides savings to school districts and taxpayers), and would result in the diversion of limited federal education funds from public to non-public schools.
In the letter, Feinsod cautioned that the proposed federal tax plan, as now written would present “substantial harm to educational programs for our public school students, to New Jersey’s communities, and to its taxpayers.”
NJSBA has prepared a sample resolution on this issue, which local school boards may adopt as us or modify.