The proposed tax plan includes a $1.5 trillion corporate tax cut and a giant tax hike on graduate students. The bill would double or even triple many students’ taxes, making graduate school an unaffordable proposition except for those already independently wealthy.
The tax plan would:
→ Consider tuition waivers as taxable income (resulting tax hikes as high as 400% for many graduate student workers)
→ Restrict undocumented immigrant students' access to tuition aid
→ Eliminate tax deductions for student loan interest
→ Eliminate tax deductions for parents of full-time students
→ Reduce tax benefits & savings for college students by $65 billion over the next 10 years
→ Disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans--the top 1% will receive over 20% of tax cuts
There will be a rally on Wednesday, Nov 29 at 1pm to support higher education and show how vital graduate students are to society. Graduate students are the bedrock of innovation and research in this country. We are vital for the structure and function of higher education in the United States. Without us, universities wouldn't have enough instructors for their college courses.