093_SB0571 LRB093 09594 RCE 09832 b 1 AN ACT concerning taxes. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by 5 adding Section 213 as follows: 6 (35 ILCS 5/213 new) 7 Sec. 213. Educational expense credit. 8 (a) Beginning with tax years ending after December 31, 9 2003, a taxpayer who is an Illinois elementary or secondary 10 school teacher shall be allowed a credit against the tax 11 imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of this Act for qualified 12 expenses incurred while employed. The credit shall be equal 13 to 50% of the qualified expense, but in no event may the 14 total credit under this Section exceed $500. In no event 15 shall a credit under this Section reduce the taxpayer's 16 liability under this Act to less than zero. This Section is 17 exempt from the provisions of Section 250 of this Act. 18 (b) For the purposes of this Section; 19 "Qualifying expenses" means the amount expended by the 20 teacher for his or her own classroom that was not purchased 21 with school funds. 22 "School" means any public or nonpublic elementary or 23 secondary school in Illinois that is in compliance with Title 24 VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which 25 satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of the School 26 Code. 27 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 28 July 1, 2003.