A Tax Bill We Can All Support

A recent article from The Chronicle of Higher Education mentions a bill pending in the US Congress that proposes that room and board expenses by graduate students be classified as qualified cost of attendance allowing graduate students to benefit from tax deductions that could mean savings of $1,000-$2,000 a year. The bill is supported by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, Council of Graduate Schools, the Association of American Universities, and the American Council on Education. The congressman who authored the bill is US Representative Phil English.

The US recession greatly affected the states ability to support graduate education across the US forcing universities to cut funding. The quick fix for academic departments was to cut stipend rates for graduate students (speaking from experience). Graduate students are cheap sources of labor and if I might add a wage insensitive one because once deep into the program the alternatives are indeed limited. This effect is even more pronounced for international students. The tax relief would be one way to support graduate education without forcing universities and states to realign their budgets.