Teachers unions are furious at congressional Republicans, whose tax legislation would end the $250 tax deduction for teachers who spend their own money on school supplies<\/b>
\nTeachers often have to spend their own money to provide students with books, pens and pencils, but they can get a tax deduction of $250 for their expenses \u2014 but not under Republican tax legislation.
Both House and Senate tax bills would end the break, and powerful teachers’ unions are mobilizing to fight the proposal.
\u00ab\u00a0It’s a slap in the face to teachers to take it away. For teachers, it\u2019s like \u2018Are you kidding me? You\u2019re coming after our $250?\u2019 \u201d said Lisa Ochs, president of American Federation of Teachers-Kansas.
Later this week, her union is holding a school supply donation drive outside the Overland Park, Kansas office of Rep. Kevin Yoder, a vulnerable Republican seeking reelection.
Similar efforts are underway around the country. The National Education Association, under the hashtag #outofmypocket, is asking teachers to share via social media pictures of the sticky notes, pens and scissors that they purchase for their students.
The push comes as Republicans are increasingly anxious to deliver President Donald Trump a rare legislative victory before the end of the year, while special interest groups seek furiously to protect their favorite breaks.
Senate Republicans on Monday began writing their tax bill and the full House is expected later this week to vote on its own blueprint. Although the two versions are markedly different and will be reconciled by a special House and Senate committee, both call for scrapping the $250 tax deduction as lawmakers seek to simplify the tax code.
Republicans argue that the code will be easier to use and that most taxpayers will benefit from a doubling of the standard deduction.
Yoder said he has \u201cgreat respect and admiration\u201d for teachers and believes the tax overhaul would benefit them even more. He said that under the House’s plan an Overland Park public school teacher making a median salary of $54,000 would save more than $1,800.
\u201cWhat teacher wouldn’t take the trade off of giving up a deduction that saves $62.50 for a simpler tax code that saves them more than $1,800?,\u201d Yoder said. \u201cThis is just one of many deductions and exemptions for individuals and businesses that are being cleared out to pave the way for a simpler and fairer code.\u00a0\u00bb
Democrats argue that the tax bill wouldn\u2019t help every middle class family. And teachers counter the $250 deduction is an important recognition of the work they do. And for some teachers, especially in low-income areas, it can mean the difference between a student equipped for school and one who is not.
\u00ab\u00a0For teachers it’s an acknowledgment: ‘We know what you’re doing and appreciate it,’ \u00a0\u00bb said Ochs.
The union estimates that teachers spend an average of $600 a year of their own money on school supplies, including pencils, pens, paper and crayons. They don\u2019t have to itemize to receive the deduction.
\u201cRepublican leaders chose to ignore the sacrifice made by those who work in our nation\u2019s public schools to make sure students have adequate books, pencils, paper and art supplies,\u201d said NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garc\u00eda.
The credit was created in 2002 by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who in 2016 secured a provision to make it permanent. She noted at the time that despite \u201ctight budgets and their own modest salaries\u201d teachers were spending their own money to purchase supplies and deserved to be reimbursed for \u201ca small part of what they invest in our children’s futures.\u201d
The teachers\u2019 unions are among the most politically active groups, contributing millions each election cycle, mostly to Democrats. The NEA spent nearly $20 million on candidates and political parties in 2016. The AFT spent nearly $12 million, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Although Democrats have been rebuffed in efforts to shape the tax legislation, they\u2019ve seized on the elimination of the teacher credit in a bid to portray the Republican plan as skewed to the rich.
\u201cIf you\u2019re a teacher and you bring supplies to school because your school isn\u2019t able to supply everything in the classroom, you no longer can deduct that,\u201d said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. \u201cWhy? So they give the president\u2019s cabinet tax deductions or eliminate the estate tax or (give the wealthy) any other tax advantages. There\u2019s a cruelty to it.\u201d
Republicans rejected those arguments, urging a look at the entire tax bill and how it would help people.
\u201cClearly this is helping real people,\u201d Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., said last week, refuting Democratic charges that teachers would be hurt by the legislation. \u201cIt\u2019s helping teachers. It\u2019s helping students. It\u2019s helping struggling families that are living paycheck to paycheck.\u201d
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