He touches on how leading Catholic organizations called to him. This call eventually led him to become the President and CEO of Catholic Education Arizona, prior to moving on and becoming President and CEO of Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities is a local organization that serves a wide range of causes in the community — from Arizona’s homeless population to survivors of domestic violence.
Mulligan and Padberg go on to discuss how Arizona’s tuition tax credit opportunities empower the citizens of Arizona and the impact they can make once they have the knowledge to do so.
Taxpayers Have the Power
Unlike many other states, Arizona offers taxpayers the option to direct tax credits to qualifying organizations. Mulligan says, “Arizona gives them a chance to essentially take control and decide where they want that money to go.”
He expresses how taxpaying residents can easily take advantage of this and use their credits to benefit causes that mean a lot to them individually. He elaborates, “If you live in a certain zip code, and education matters to you in your neighborhood, you’ve got the ability to say, ‘Hey, there’s a Catholic school right here down the street from me and I’d love to see some kids in my neighborhood get the chance to benefit from the education that that school offers.'”
Mulligan suggests for those who don’t know specifically where to direct credits to, leave it in the hands of charities to figure out, saying that organizations like Catholic Education Arizona may know where the credits are needed the most.
Organizations may have a better idea of specific ways to use credits. For example, they may use the child tax credit for tuition or food assistance. According to USCCB, 45% of Catholic schools in the United States participate in Federal Nutrition Programs.
Consider Stacking Tax Credits
Padberg enlightens listeners on the topic of stacking tax credits, explaining, “One of the great things that we teach people about is stacking tax credits. Stacking benefits for Catholic Education Arizona and Catholic Charities would be a great way to move forward.”
Stacking credits is something you are able to do if you have enough liability left over after directing credits to one organization. You have the ability to benefit more than one charity. To this, Mulligan says, “You want to direct money to private education? Go for it. You want to pick a charity that you support, as well? Go for it. You have a foster care charity, like Catholic Charities … go for that, too.”
To learn more about how to direct your tax credit, how to stack tax credits, or more about the good that Catholic Education Arizona and Catholic Charities do to benefit children in Catholic schools, reach out to CEA today!
