Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, addresses a rally against the proposed Republican tax reform bill outside the U.S. Capitol. The House plan would hit graduate students especially hard.
The tax bill making its way through the House of Representatives contains a provision that would tax tuition waivers for graduate students. Because, as a community, we cannot pay our graduate students enough to make graduate school an option for any but the wealthiest students, we pay their tuition and fees in exchange for the work they do while enrolled. Some work as teaching assistants, while others spend time as research assistants. Under the Republican tax plan, those tuition waivers would now be counted as income — and taxed accordingly.
