Graduate students at MU can breathe a little easier for now.
The newest version of the Republican tax bill appears to have had the provision that made graduate tuition waivers taxable income removed. Republicans in the House and Senate met Wednesday to reconcile their two separate versions of the tax bill which resulted in the provision’s removal.
Jeni Hart, MU’s associate vice chancellor for graduate studies, said there was a lot of concern among graduate students over the plan to tax their waivers.
The original House bill “obviously has implications for graduate students in really meaningful and powerful ways,” she said.
There were 2,280 graduate students with a fellowship or assistantship that came with a tuition waiver this semester at MU, according to the Office of Graduate Studies. For students taking a typical nine-hour course load, this means a waiver of $3,240 per semester for in-state students and $8,872 for out-of-state students.
“They would be taxing us on income we don’t actually earn,” said Rachel Owen, director of national affairs for MU’s Graduate Professional Council.
Owen said graduate students said they wouldn’t be able to finish their programs because they would have been unaffordable under the provision.
Drew Amidei, president of the English Graduate Student Association, said he’s still concerned, even though it looks like the taxation of tuition waivers won’t happen this time. He cited what he sees as the wider context of “a long and sustained assault” on public higher education.
“They might not be taking our tuition waivers right now, but it doesn’t mean they won’t be coming with something else,” Amidei said.