The time has come for a new tax credit...

Just had an awesome idea. If it works politicians can use it to re-educate the country without having to do the right thing by resurrecting the public education system.

It's called the Reading Credit.

On your tax return there are a list of credits you could claim that could reduce your tax liability to zero. There are also a list of refundable credits you could claim to increase your refund.

For every book you buy at an independent or used bookstore, following the policy behind the Reading Credit you could take a certain amount off of your tax liability. Maybe it would work better at the state or city level. People usually get a refund from their federal return, but then end up owing the state something substantial.

Anyway, book purchases should be made deductible. But their deductibility should depend on what kind of book you buy. Imagine government debates over the tax benefits possible from reading Herman Melville.

If I had it my way,

Ann Coulter= $0.01
Dan Brown= $0.13
Contemporary Fiction= $0.15
Contemporary Poetry= $0.30
Anything from the New York Times Book Review that year= $0.40
Anything mentioned in the Economist= the shipping cost
Anything in a foreign language= $1
Art History from Yale University Press= $1.25
Art History from Taschen= you can afford an accountant
Science books by actual authors=$1.50
Architectural History=$2
Economics and Current events=$3
Travel books=$5 (if you actually visit the damn country)
Religious history=$6.66
European History=$6.75
Howard Zinn=$7
English Literature before 1900= $7.35
Any Literature before 1900=$7.50
Greek Comedy=$7.75
Greek Tragedy=$8
Science books by actual scientists=$8.20
French Philosophy=$8.50
German Philosophy=$9
Greek Philosophy=$11

If anyone has any suggestions or a list of their own...