Neal, Wyden Object to Treasury’s Proposed Boost for Private School Tax Credits

WASHINGTON, DC— House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) today objected to the Treasury Department’s recently issued proposed regulations on new Internal Revenue Code section 25F that further Republican attempts to undermine public school systems by directing taxpayer money toward private and religious schools.

In a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Ranking Members Neal and Wyden called out the Administration’s actions as a blatant attempt to circumvent the clear rules established by Congress to funnel even more taxpayer funds away from public education and use it to subsidize the private school education of children from wealthy families. Treasury’s baseless interpretation of federal statute would allow married couples filing jointly to potentially claim double the credit that is authorized under the law.

“This interpretation is wildly inconsistent with the longstanding treatment of other provisions that use identical or near-identical language,” Neal and Wyden wrote. “This throws doubt upon Treasury’s interpretation of many provisions of the Code, creates a great deal of uncertainty in the administration of our tax laws, and could balloon the deficit,” Neal and Wyden noted, adding that it could increase the cost of the credit by an additional $150 billion over the next decade.

The Democratic Committee leaders closed by demanding the Administration provide written answers and explanations to how the new interpretation of the law will impact taxpayers, how it came to be and was coordinated internally, which other tax provisions taxpayers might take a return position that is different from previously listed guidance based on new interpretations, and other pressing matters. 

Read the full letter to Secretary Bessent HERE.

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