February 11, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Arizona Supreme Court has let stand a 1997 state law that permits its residents to claim a tax credit for donations to non-profit scholarship organizations that help poor families pay for private-school tuition.
Critics had argued that the credit — which allows people to subtract a dollar from their tax bills for every dollar, up to $500, that they donate for scholarships — was the equivalent of a voucher program. They said it amounted to taking money out of the state’s treasury and putting it into predominately church-run schools and thus violated the state’s constitutional ban on using government dollars to support religious activities.
But in a 3-to-2 decision, the court upheld the tax credit. On behalf of the majority, Chief Justice Thomas A. Zlaket wrote: “We have concluded that the religious clauses of the Arizona Constitution do not invalidate this attempt to keep pace with changing economic conditions and societal goals.”
Supporters of the Arizona credit praised the decision, saying they hope the tax break will serve as a model for other states. But that prospect concerned Justice Stanley G. Feldman, who wrote the dissenting opinion. “The court’s answer is that nothing short of direct legislative appropriation for religious institutions is prohibited,” he wrote. “If that answer stands, this state and every other will be able to use the taxing power to direct unrestricted aid to support religious instruction and observance, thus destroying any pretense of separation of church and state.”
The full text of the decision in the case, Kotterman v. Killian, can be found on the Arizona Supreme Court’s World-Wide Web site at http://www.supreme.state.az.us.
