HB93


 * HB93**

__Sponsors:__ Heather Gosnell (Republican- Indiana) and Amber Hydash (Democrat) Personal pages: HGosnell and AHydash

__Topic:__ Affordable Education

__Title:__ Cash for College

__Purpose:__ The purpose of our bill is to make education more affordable. Many people do not or are not able to get the education they need to get a good career and make a good living, due to all of the fees that come along with it.

__Eligibility:__ This applies to anyone who wants or needs a better, more affordable education, but there are some limits. The "Cash for College" plan only applies to public colleges, since private colleges chose to not be funded by the government. Any type of tuition can be partially covered for the first four years of a child's education.

__Terms and Benefits:__ Tax credits will be issued: instead of giving more money to the government, that money will go towards your education AND lower your tax rate. There are certain eligibility requirements for this plan:

-People who make __less than__ $150,000 a year qualify. -The plan covers partial tuition for students up until they turn 25. -Up to $20,000 can be credited per student, or $5,000 per year. -No more that $20,000 per student can be credited. -This only applies to a Bachelor's degree (first four years in College). -The tax credits apply only to public colleges, __not__ private. -Students must students in college for the full four years, otherwise the credit is forfeited. -Students must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. If they fail to do so in any year at any given time, they forfeit the credit for that year, and are able to reapply for the following year. -If the credit is forfeited at any time, the tax must be paid back within tweleve months. If during one of the years the student does not meet the following requirements, that year's credit is forfeited, but they are able to reapply the next year.

__Benefits:__ More students could afford college. When go to college, they are most likely to graduate. The students then get a good job, and eventually help the economy. When they get better jobs, they earn more money and are able to pay back the taxes that were originally lost.

__Fiscal Impact:__ The project's cost is dependent on many things. In 2009, there were 3.2 million students who graduated high school, and of those, 70.1% continued on to college (2,243,200 students). Assuming that the 2,243,200 students use all $20,000 of their credit and do not drop out, the projected cost would be approximently $44,864,000,000. When these students graduate and get a good job, they are able to pay taxes much easier. They will have higher paying jobs, so they will pay a higher percentage of their income taxes.