Chaput urges Catholics to lobby Wolf on tax credits

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput on Thursday called on Catholics to urge Gov. Wolf to release approval letters for corporate tax credits that help pay for scholarships for low-income K-8 students who will attend Catholic and private schools next fall.

Chaput, who oversees the five-county Archdiocese of Philadelphia, said the tax credits were vital because they "assist many thousands of needy children. They do it by enabling Pennsylvania businesses to donate to qualified scholarship organizations."

He said the state program requires companies to receive approval letters from the Department of Community and Economic Development and make the contributions to the scholarship programs by Dec. 31 for the 2016-17 academic year.

Some have suggested that the Wolf administration is using the tax credits as leverage in the state-budget battle with the legislature. State officials said that is not the case.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Community and Economic Development has said that without a 2015-16 state budget, the department cannot issue approval letters because it does not know the amount of tax credits the department can legally issue.

Last year, the tax code permitted corporations to claim up to $150 million in state tax credits for contributions to approved organizations.

The archbishop released his statement one day after the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia said Harrisburg politics were jeopardizing $2.5 million for 2,000 new scholarships to help Philadelphia children attend nonpublic schools next year.

Chaput said he was asking Catholics "and all persons who support good educational options for the poor to contact Gov. Wolf . . . to ask for his support in issuing these authorizations." He directed supporters to the governor's website: https://governor.pa.gov/contact/

martha.woodall@phillynews.com 215-854-2789 @marwooda