By Adam Allington, KWMU
Jefferson Cit y, MO – When the new General Assembly convenes in January one of the bills on the calendar would make tuition paid to Missouri public colleges and universities tax deductible.
The tuition bill was pre-filed in early December. If approved the measure would provide tax breaks for the 130,000 students attending public colleges in Missouri.
"By making college tuition tax deductible, it's a way to take some of the burden off students and parents," says Democratic state rep Jeff Harris."
In the wake of recent tuition hikes at colleges across the state, Harris would like to see some kind of relief to keep college accessible and affordable for Missouri's middle class.
"This is a tax cut for, frankly, just average Missourians like so many of us are, just trying to make ends meets, trying to make sure that our families, our children have opportunities greater then even those that were afforded us."
Representative Harris points to a college education as the primary hurdle toward joining the middle-class and participating in the 21 century economy. A generation or two ago a high school education would suffice.
Harris hopes his bill (HB48) will have solid bi-partisan support. The fact that the bill was pre-filed in December means it will get an early spot on next year's legislative calendar.