Catholic Education Arizona recently sat down with corporate partner Josh Ruggiero of Ace Hardware Stores to discuss how they and other businesses can direct their state tax liabilities towards supporting Catholic education.
The Value of Catholic Education
Josh Ruggiero is a business owner in Arizona with six Ace Hardware stores across the Valley, carrying on the family legacy that his grandfather started in 1976. Josh grew up going to public school as a child, and became aware of the many benefits of a Catholic education after he met his wife, who is a Catholic school teacher. As their family grew, it became increasingly important for their children’s education to be aligned with what they were teaching at home, and for the messaging for their kids both at school and at home to be the same.
Not only is Catholic education a value for Josh’s family, this value is also evident in the way he runs his business. Over the years, Josh has participated as a contributor to both individual and corporate scholarship programs through CEA, and has helped to spread the word to other business owners as well. When speaking of the process, Josh says it couldn’t be easier to direct state tax liabilities towards supporting Catholic education. “I think it’s really easy to do,” Josh says, “The forms are really simple to fill out and the whole thing is pretty seamless”. Not only that, he says, but “it’s an easy to give back to the community, so I like to go above and beyond”.
Corporate Tax Credit Donor Advice
Ruggiero is thankful for the events and corporate breakfasts that CEA has hosted to allow for networking opportunities between like-minded business owners. There were even a few other business owners in his parish that attended that he got to know even more.
The advice he would give to other business owners who are just learning about the corporate tax credit program and what it does is to start with education. He believes it’s vitally important to understand what their actual state tax liability is, and try to make use of it as much as possible for the betterment of their community. After all, these are taxes that are going to be paid anyway, so why not direct them towards a worthy cause?
He would also encourage business owners to spread the word, because “it’s the best kept secret that shouldn’t be a secret. We need to make sure that people know that this credit is out there, and they can help fund lower income families who want to get over that hurdle of not knowing how they can make this work”. This is one way that businesses can impact their community and help children across Arizona receive a Christ-inspired education.
For more information on how your business can become a corporate tax donor, contact Catholic Education Arizona today.
