Free Republic

Proponents of school choice are sharing in President Trump’s first major legislative victory, the signing of the Republican tax reform bill on Friday. Under the to-be-updated tax code, thanks to a provision introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas,, parents will be able to use 529 plans, a form of savings account, to pay not only for college, as is currently the case, but also toward expenses for K-12 schooling, including private school tuition. The provision originally included home schooling costs, but was stripped from the final bill after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that part ineligible under budget reconciliation rules —...

Here’s a refreshing change of pace for you. Normally when we have to talk about politicians caving in on a position they’ve staked out, it winds up being the Republicans. This week, however, the collapse took place in the White House. Barack Obama had been pushing for what amounted to another tax increase by eliminating the 529 college savings program whereby parents could set aside pretax money for their kids’ education and not pay taxes on it upon withdrawal provided the money was used to pay for tuition. But in the face of bipartisan opposition and negative feedback from...

WASHINGTON — President Obama, facing angry reprisals from parents and from lawmakers of both parties, will drop his proposal to effectively end popular college savings accounts known as 529s, but will keep an expanded tuition tax credit at the center of his college access plan, the White House said Tuesday. The decision came just hours after House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio demanded the proposal be withdrawn from the president’s budget, due out Monday, “for the sake of middle-class families.” But the call for the White House to relent also came from top Democrats, including Representatives Nancy Pelosi of...

No excerpt allowed from Bloomberg, column here.

President Obama is pitching his new tax plan as a way to help the middle class at the expense of the rich. But middle-class savers are bound to notice if he achieves two of the White House’s stated goals—to “roll back” tax benefits of 529 college savings plans and “repeal tax incentives going forward” for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. Both plans allow parents, grandparents or anyone looking to help fund a kid’s education to contribute after-tax dollars into accounts that grow tax-free. There is also no tax when the money is withdrawn, provided it is used for qualified educational expenses...

Hoping to dominate the narrative on a holiday weekend and on the eve of the annual “State of the Union” speech, the Obama White House late Saturday night leaked some of the new tax ideas in their upcoming budget. One tax hike in particular was very odd, since it’s aimed almost exclusively at middle class families with kids–the exact demographic the goodies in the tax plan is targeting. The levy in question would increase taxes on college savings accounts known as “529 plans” (after their section in the Internal Revenue Code). By definition, these accounts are really only used by...

Taxing Section 529 tax-free education plans is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. Of all the lying, broken campaign promises,and studied burglary President Obama has committed over the past six years—seven really, if you count his first campaign—this has to be the worst. He who can’t help but toot his own horn (tooting his horn was his only moment of clarity in the whole State of the Union Speech), said this last night: Of course, the education race doesn't end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within the reach of every American. (Applause.) That's why we've ended...

President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address tomorrow proposes $320 billion in taxes over the next 10 years. Pretty much every new story is presenting it as "increasing taxes on the wealthiest" to pay for programs to help the middle class. That's bad enough. It's not like he's proposing increasing taxes to pay for fundamental government operations. It's just a wealth transfer to cover the "costs" of offering up tax credits to famillies with two working parents (screw you, stay-at-home moms and dads!). But beyond that, Americans for Tax Reform looked at the package and point out several ways...

A new report suggests Nevada put budget woes ahead of savers' interests. Could other states follow? Recent controversy over one state's use of the funds in its college savings plans has raised new concerns for parents and students across the country with money in 529 plans. In a game of fiscal hot potato, the Nevada legislature moved money from a state scholarship fund into the state's general fund last year; the state later took $4.2 million worth of fees from its 529 plans to cover the gap in the scholarship fund, according to a recent report from the Nevada Policy...

Richard Beardall is getting exactly what he wanted: a trespassing ticket from federal land managers for ignoring the rules and riding his ATV on a closed road in the San Rafael Swell. Beardall, three other ATV riders and a Jeep, moved a 10-foot barricade near an old uranium mine and made a half-mile roundtrip along the access road to the Muddy River on Saturday. The Bureau of Land Management closed the area to recreational vehicles in 1993 due to riparian damage, said Price, Utah-based BLM manager Roger Bankert. Beardall, president of the Americans with Disabilities Access Alliance knows that, but...