Updated (12/7/2017, 3:54 p.m.) with the addition of three signers to the letter (now 31) and a link to it.
Some Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing to discard a provision in their recently passed tax-reform bill that would effectively tax as income the tuition waivers received by graduate students.
Thirty-one lawmakers, led by Rep. Pete Sessions, Republican of Texas, sent a letter on Thursday to leaders of the House and the Senate urging them to prevent the provision from making it into final tax legislation.
Both chambers passed bills in recent weeks to overhaul the nation’s tax code, but the measure to tax tuition waivers appears only in the House version. A conference committee will be convened to reconcile differences between the two versions and craft a compromise bill that could be sent to President Trump for his signature.
“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 lawmakers wrote.
“Tax policy should make our country more competitive, and creating barriers to technological progress is contrary to that goal,” the letter continues. “We strongly urge you to ensure that this harmful provision is not in the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”
People in higher education have produced a groundswell of opposition to the tax on tuition waivers specifically and to the bills passed by both chambers more broadly. Eight graduate students were arrested on Tuesday in a protest against the tuition-tax provision outside the office of the House speaker, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
“It is no secret that student loans are already crippling our young leaders, and this tax would add to this growing epidemic,” said Mr. Sessions in a written statement.
“Instead of penalizing students who want to get ahead and gain an edge in their fields,” he said, “we should be providing them more opportunities to be successful.”
Adam Harris is a breaking-news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHSays or email him at adam.harris@chronicle.com.
