The proposed tax plan includes a $1.5 trillion corporate tax cut paid for, in part, by a giant tax hike on graduate students. The bill would double or even triple many students’ taxes: at the University of Utah, one could see taxes in excess of $10 thousand, and hits new graduate students particularly hard, effectively creating a significant entry-level barrier to PhD programs. Under the proposed plan, advanced degrees could become a financial impossibility for all but the independently wealthy.
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 or enough researchers for their labs.