I want to voice my concerns about the effects of the proposed tax reform bill — Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — and its impact on higher education. There are many provisions in the proposed law which will have adverse impacts on graduate students and the most significant among those is repealing Section 117(d).
Currently, Section 117 (d) of the Tax Code allows institutions to provide tax- free undergraduate-level tuition waiver or reimbursements (for study at schools with reciprocal agreements) to employees, spouses and dependents. It also allows tax-free tuition of individuals employed as graduate-level teaching and research assistants. The proposed tax policy repeals these provisions thereby eliminating tax free treatment of tuition remissions.
This would result in leaving students in a situation where they cannot survive on their incomes. Further it hurts the higher education community at large, since this would make it hard for universities to recruit graduate students.
I strongly urge that everyone interested in education to urge your legislators to vote against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Benjamin Himes
Alexandria