Ending a tax deduction for interest paid on student loans. Raising taxes for more than 100,000 graduate students who receive tuition waivers. Imposing a levy on endowments at certain private colleges and universities.
These actions are anathema to higher education leaders across the country. Yet they all appear in the House-approved Republican tax overhaul, evidence of a growing disconnect between large segments of the GOP and colleges that, for generations, have wielded enormous clout on Capitol Hill.
"I didn't see it coming," said Robert L. Caret, chancellor of the public University System of Maryland. "Obviously, there's a very different tenor here in Washington."
The bill the House passed Thursday would deliver a $1.5 trillion tax cut, with benefits tilted toward corporations, business owners and wealthy families. Republicans say the cut will spur economic growth, helping families, students and schools with a simpler set of revenue rules.
Read more at The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/tax-bill-reflects-rift-between-many-republicans-and-higher-education/2017/11/19/33f52a6e-cb0c-11e7-aa96-54417592cf72_story.html