The senators approved without any discussion Senate Bill 17-24, introduced by Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, as amended by the House of Representatives.
Once the bill becomes law, the scholarship office and municipal scholarship programs like SHEFA and those of Rota and Tinian can get donations from businesses in the form of an education tax credit.
Currently, those entitled to receive education tax credit donations are the Public School System, Northern Marianas College, the Commonwealth Museum of History and Culture, the Northern Mariana Islands Council for the Humanities and the Northern Marianas Trades Institute.
The education tax credit provides an incentive to private individuals and business entities to make contributions to qualified educational institutions. In return, the donors get tax credits.
The House, in its education committee report, said the scholarship office and municipal scholarships should be considered as qualified educational institutions to allow them to benefit from contributions from private individuals and business entities.
Although it will decrease taxes collected from private individuals and business entities, S.B. 17-24 could also result in additional funds for the CNMI and municipal scholarship offices, the report stated.
