“The company will make an initial investment of $50 million in a new and ongoing education program specifically designed to cover tuition costs for hourly employees—a result of the recently enacted tax reform and representing a total allocation of more than $175 million in this fiscal year.” Continue reading.
“Good news: This deduction survived the recently passed tax reform despite threats of repeal from some legislators. …Given how much debt the average college graduate ends up carrying, this tax break can be a fabulous deal for many taxpayers. You can even claim this deduction if you’re paying student loans for a spouse or dependent child.” Continue reading.
—The Motley Fool via Madison.com
Link to main story: Higher ed responds to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
“We are pleased and grateful the tax bill passed by Congress no longer includes a number of higher education provisions, including the taxation of graduate tuition remissions, consolidation of certain education-related tax credits, and the elimination of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction.
“However, we remain deeply concerned about the downstream effects this legislation may have on the ability of state and local governments to fund public higher education.
“The limits placed on the SALT deduction, as well as the legislation’s impact on charitable giving—which is another important non-tuition source of support for public colleges—may usher in tuition-hikes and escalate student debt at public institutions.” Continue reading.
—Statement from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities
“Ever mindful that a good part of Trump’s base lack college degrees and may resent those who have them, the Republican tax bill attempts to “get even” with higher education of all things by imposing a tax on the endowments at certain colleges and universities.
“The House-approved bill also had raising taxes on graduate students who received tuition waivers and ending a tax deduction for interest paid on student loans in it, but these were dropped from the final tax bill.” Continue reading.
—Melvyn Krauss, a Hoover Institution senior fellow at Stanford University, via USA Today
“While I applaud the efforts of many in Congress to improve the tax bill that passed today, the bill in its final form will harm our students, families, local communities, and the nonprofit universities that have long served them …
“A federal siphoning of the funds that support student aid programs will make college less affordable and less accessible for our country’s students, undermining our national interest in cultivating an educated, high-skilled workforce.” Continue reading.
—Association of American Universities President Mary Sue Coleman
“We appreciate that the final conference report on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act retained all of the current student and family higher education tax benefits, as well as the charitable deduction, IRA charitable rollover, and private activity bonds. ….
“However, the elimination of bond refinancing will increase costs for our campuses, and the new endowment tax is a dangerous intrusion into charitable giving, punishes only private colleges, and does nothing to help students.” Continue reading.
“This budget proposal continues the disappointing, decade-long trend of drastically underfunding the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins).
“This budget proposal, which provides level funding from the FY 2017 enacted level for the Perkins Basic State Grant program, represents a 13 percent reduction (nearly $170 million in nominal dollars) in annual Perkins funding to states since FY 2007.” Continue reading.
