Update on federal tax legislation

Dear members of the graduate student community,

Some of you have written to me to share your concerns about how the U.S. House of Representatives tax legislation, H.R. 1, proposes changing the current non-taxable status of graduate student tuition reductions to taxable income.

This provision, along with several others in the bill, are very concerning to MIT. While Chancellor Barnhart and I continue to work with our colleagues in the Office of General Counsel and the Washington, D.C. office to assess the legislation’s impact on our community, we remain committed to our graduate students and their needs.

In addition to studying the impact of tax reform legislation, we are actively working with peer institutions and higher education advocacy groups to try to educate Congress and influence changes to the pending bill. We encourage you to consider learning more about the legislation and contacting your elected Congressional representatives to explain how a rollback of tuition benefits would directly affect you. (The Graduate Student Council is organizing a phone bank today to make it easier to reach Congress; you can join them from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 66-144).

We will keep you updated as our assessment and advocacy work moves forward in the coming weeks. If you have immediate questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Ian A. Waitz
Vice Chancellor
Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics