UCA generates more in tax revenue than it takes. These benefits to taxpayers consist primarily of taxes that the state and local government will collect from the added revenue created in the state. As UCA students will earn more, they will make higher tax payments throughout their working lives. Students’ employers will also make higher tax payments as they increase their output and purchases of goods and services. By the end of the FY 2018-19 students’ working lives, the state and local government will have collected a present value of $148 million in added taxes.
Benefits to taxpayers will also consist of savings generated by the improved lifestyles of UCA students and the corresponding reduced government services. Education is statistically correlated with a variety of lifestyle
changes. Students’ UCA educations will generate savings in three main categories: 1) healthcare, 2) crime, and 3) income assistance. Improved health will lower students’ demand for national health care services. In addition, students will be less likely to interact with the criminal justice system, resulting in a reduced demand for law enforcement and victim costs. UCA students will be more employable, so their reduced demand for income assistance such as welfare and unemployment benefits will benefit taxpayers. For a list of study references, contact the university for a copy of the main report. Altogether, the present value of the benefits associated with a UCA education will generate $28.8 million in savings to state and local taxpayers.
For every dollar of public money invested in UCA, taxpayers will receive a cumulative value of $2.20 over the course of the students’ working lives.
Total taxpayer benefits amount to $176.8 million, the present value sum of the added taxes and public sector savings. Taxpayer costs are $81.3 million, equal to the amount of state and local government funding UCA received in FY 2018-19. These benefits and costs yield a benefit-cost ratio of 2.2. This means that for every dollar of public money invested in UCA in FY 2018-19, taxpayers will receive a cumulative value of $2.20 over the course of the students’ working lives. The average annual internal rate of return for taxpayers is 5.7%, which compares favorably to other long-term investments in the public and private sectors.