On November 16, the House of Representatives passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1). The bill amends the tax code to remove a provision excluding graduate student tuition waivers from income tax and removes interest rate deductions for student loans. As APSA noted in a previous statement, the provisions in the House’s legislation would the increase costs of graduate study to the detriment of fostering future scholars in political science and threaten to undermine the long-term health and vitality of higher education institutions.
A similar tax bill under consideration in the Senate does not remove the existing tax provisions for students. The Senate Finance committee passed the companion legislation on November 16. Senate leadership has stated they expect to bring the bill to the floor after the Senate returns from Thanksgiving recess on November 27.
Use the National Humanities Alliance’s Action Portal to contact your representatives in the House and Senate and urge them to oppose subjecting tuition waivers to taxation.