Brady Urges Conferees to Preserve Tax Exclusions for Graduate Students

Congressman Kevin Brady has called on congressional colleagues to leave in place a tax waiver provision for graduate students working as teaching or research assistants. Under current tax law, students are excluded from being taxed on tuition reduction or tuition waiver programs run by many institutions, including Texas A&M University which operates numerous graduate-level programs.

A proposal buried in the House version of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 would eliminate the tax provision, thereby placing a tax increase on many graduate students. The Senate’s version of the tax bill does not call for the provision’s elimination.

In a letter to the joint conference assigned to work out differences between the House and Senate tax bills, Brady relayed his concerns about the impact on the many graduate students in his district. "Countless numbers of graduate students have described to me the grave financial hardship that they would experience if their tax waivers are removed." Graduate students serving as teaching or research assistants usually work for very little or no compensation. Brady also noted: "These students will be productive taxpayers well beyond graduation."

In closing, Brady asked the conferees to protect the nation’s investment in graduate students because of the benefits derived from their academic commitment. "I respectfully urge you to continue to support the graduate students of our nation’s institutions of higher learning and consequently, preserve tax waivers on their tuition."