ISTOCK, PHOTOBUAYRepresentative Pete Sessions (R-TX) and 30 other Republican members of Congress—including more than 25 House Representatives—sent a letter to House and Senate leaders on Thursday (December 7), opposing the proposed tax on graduate tuition waivers. This provision, which was included in the House version of the new GOP tax bill, would turn the tuition waivers that many US universities provide to students who conduct research or teach courses into taxable income.
“A tax on graduate tuition waivers would be unfair, would undermine our competitive position, and would inhibit the economic growth that tax reform promises,” the letter reads. “Repeal of the income exclusion for graduate tuition waivers would subject thousands of graduate students to a major tax increase at a time in their lives when they likely lack the ability to pay.”
According to the letter, this provision would increase the taxable income of a typical graduate student by $12,000 to $50,000.
The tuition tax provision has caused an uproar among graduate students. After the bill containing the tuition waiver provision passed through the House, graduate students held demonstrations at universities across the U.S. On December 5, eight students were arrested while protesting the GOP tax ...
