Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 16:57:26 -0400
From: Matthew Belmonte <mbelmont@mail.slc.edu>
To: senator@dpm.senate.gov
Subject: oppose House version of "Tax Relief Act"

Dear Senator Moynihan:

You will soon be participating in a conference committee to resolve differences
between the House and Senate versions of the so-called "Tax Relief Act".  I
wish to draw your attention to a little-know feature of the House version of
this bill which, if signed into law, would have drastically negative
consequences for graduate students.  Currently, section 117(d) of the Internal
Revenue Code excludes tuition remissions from taxable income.  As you know,
most graduate students receive partial or complete tuition remissions from
their universities in exchange for teaching or research duties.  These
remissions often amount to more than a graduate student's annual stipend.
For example, in my field, neuroscience, a typical annual stipend is $15,000,
and the cost of a year of tuition at many private instituitions is more than
$20,000.  Thus, if section 117(d) is repealed as in the House version, a student
with an annual income of only $15,000 would be forced to pay taxes as if she
were taking home $35,000!  Clearly this is an unfair burden, and the House
version of the "Tax Relief Act" would be no relief at all for graduate
students.

We graduate students are sacrificing opportunities for high-paying jobs so that
we can get the training that we need in order to become tomorrow's teachers
and researchers.  I fear that the repeal of section 117(d) will drive many of
us into debt, and many of us out of graduate school altogether.  In your work
on the conference committee, please oppose the House version containing the
repeal of section 117(d).