The Republican-backed tax overhaul is headed for final floor votes in Congress without some of the measures that would directly target higher education. Notably, a proposed tax on tuition waivers for graduate students and other college employees is no longer in the compromise legislation. But a high-profile tax on the investment earnings of some of the largest college endowments stayed in the bill.
A conference committee, convened by Republican leaders in Congress, agreed on Friday to the final terms of the bill, which now faces votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The House is expected to vote on December 21. Odds for the bill’s passage increased on Friday when two potential holdouts, Sen. Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, and Sen. Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, said they would support it. If majorities in both chambers approve the bill, President Trump is expected to sign it.
But even without some controversial measures, the overall package is still expected to have a significant effect on higher-education budgets. Within the bill are provisions that could curtail both state appropriations and college fund raising.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Final-Tax-Bill-Would-Spare/242075