Dive Summary:
- Experts speaking before the Senate Finance Committee agreed that the Pell Grant program should be preserved, but also that education tax credits made need an overhaul.
- 14 tax benefits are currently available to college students and parents, and they cost the federal government about $95.3 billion from 2010-2014, according to data from the Joint Committee on Taxation.
- Family members who could benefits from the credits often get confused, however, and fail to select the right options or claim them at all.
From the article:
Higher education is a good investment, even though some new grads currently struggling to get jobs don’t think so. But does it make sense for the federal government to subsidize college with both tax incentives and direct grants? And if it doesn’t, which program should it dump?
There is a strong case that the government should keep and enhance the Pell Grant program, which is the main form of direct assistance for low-income kids. At the same time, it may be time to eliminate or at least consolidate some of the confusing collection of education tax credits. ...