> Please be polite and courteous, but let them know that you oppose
> the loss of section 117(d), the tuition tax waiver for graduate
> students. This waiver is retained in the Senate version (S. 949)
> of the Tax Relief Act but eliminated in the House version
> (H.R. 2014). Be sure to mention that you are concerned that this
> issue be carefully considered at the meeting of the Joint House-
> Senate Conference Committee to reconcile the two versions of the
> Tax Relief Act. Explain to them your concerns for higher
> education and for research should the tuition tax waiver be lost.
- Joe
Joseph S. Barrera III (joebar@microsoft.com)
http://research.microsoft.com/~joebar
Phone, Office: (415) 778-8227; Cellular: (415) 601-3719; Home: (415)
588-4801
The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views and do
not reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation.
-----Original Message-----
From: Terri Watson
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 1997 12:02 PM
To: Operating Systems Research Group
Subject: FW: Tax bill may slash graduate stipends
This seems like a potential disaster.
-----Original Message-----
From: fjones@cs.washington.edu [SMTP:fjones@cs.washington.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 1997 11:50 AM
To: faculty@cs.washington.edu; cs-grads-mail@cs.washington.edu
Subject: Dean Landolt/grad stipends........
Below is the response from Dean Landolt from the Grad School, urging
everyone to respond to this concern.
------- Start of forwarded message -------
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 11:45:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: "K. Stromberg" <kstrom@u.washington.edu>
To: PS Graduate Students <polgrads@augustus.csscr.washington.edu>,
Political Science Faculty
<psfaculty@augustus.csscr.washington.edu>
cc: gpaa@grad.washington.edu
Subject: RE: URGENT: Tax bill may slash graduate stipends! (fwd)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Below is the resonse from Dean Landolt about this matter.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 11:24:36 -0700
From: Marsha Landolt <landolt@grad.washington.edu>
To: Political Science <kstrom@u.washington.edu>,
Elizabeth Feetham <efeetham@u.washington.edu>,
Jean Whitcomb <whitcomb@u.washington.edu>
Cc: Marsha Landolt <landolt@u.washington.edu>
Subject: RE: URGENT: Tax bill may slash graduate stipends! (fwd)
Karin,
We have already been in contact with the University's Director of
Federal Relations on this topic. She has written a letter to all
members of the Washington Delegation urging them to support the Senate
version of the Tax Relief Bill [in regards to section 117(d)]. She is
also working with various national higher ed organizations in D.C. to
educate legislators on the adverse consequences of the proposed change.
While those efforts will be helpful, a flood of letters from students
and faculty will be even more helpful. I recommend that you urge your
students and colleagues to follow the instructions contained at the end
of the forwarded message. Remind them, that correspondence must be on
PERSONAL (as opposed to University) stationery and that they should not
use University fax machines, e-mail, or franking privileges to lobby
members of Congress.
Thank you for your interest and help.
Marsha Landolt
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Political Science
> Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 1997 10:21 AM
> To: Elizabeth Feetham; Jean Whitcomb
> Cc: Marsha Landolt
> Subject: URGENT: Tax bill may slash graduate stipends! (fwd)
>
> Dean Feetham, is there anything the Graduate School can do about this?
> This certainly seems to be unfair burden to place on graduate students
> who
> already struggle economically as it is while they are in school.
>
> Is there something we as departments can do?
>
> Karin Stromberg, Graduate Program Assistant
> Department of Political Science
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>
> Background:
>
> As you may know, the "Tax Relief Act" of 1997, passed the U.S.
> House of Representatives (H.R. 2014) on Thursday, June 26; a
> different version of the bill passed the Senate (S. 949) on
> Friday, June 27. The House bill, while providing $135 billion
> in tax relief to many Americans, contains a provision which
> drastically and detrimentally affects graduate students. A
> short clause phases out section 117(d) of the tax code, the
> section that excludes the value of tuition waivers or tuition
> reductions from taxable income. With the loss of this tuition
> tax exclusion, many graduate students will see their taxes
> raised by thousands of dollars per year. Examples provided by
> the NAGPS (National Association of Graduate-Professional
> Students) indicate that some of us may see our after-tax wages
> cut by 50% or even more!!
>
> Tuition waivers are used in many graduate programs to assist
> students during their often-lengthy education. Most of these
> students are obtaining PhDs in academic fields and will go on
> to modestly-paying university positions, possibly after long
> post-doctoral research. They serve as teaching assistants or
> research assistants in return for not paying tuition, which can
> easily exceed $20,000 per year at private institutions. Under
> the House version of the bill, the value of this tuition waiver
> would be considered taxable income.
>
> Although the House version of this bill is a disaster for
> graduate students, the Senate version does not include the
> repeal of section 117(d) of the tax code. Because of this
> and many other differences in the House and Senate versions
> of the bill, both houses of Congress (as well as the White
> House) will convene to reconcile the two versions of the bill
> following the July 4th recess. At that point, the bill will
> be voted on for final passage, and signed into law. Our last
> chance to defeat the House bill is through this House-Senate
> Committee, which is expected to begin meeting the week of
> July 7th.
>
> If you have not heard of this issue, contained within the
> highly publicized "Tax Relief Act," it is because this act is
> enormous, containing tax issues involving cigarettes,
> capital gains, and the $500 per child tax credit, to name just
> a few. It is these other issues which have gained the media's
> attention, and few people seem to be aware of the impending
> disaster for graduate students, higher education, and
> university and research budgets. **It is our responsibility
> to ensure that our opinions are voiced and that this issue
> gains national attention.
>
> For more background on this situation, see one of the
> following web sites:
> NAGPS:
> <http://www.nagps.org/Student_Aid/105th/97_TaxReconciliation.html>
> MIT GSC:
> <http://www.mit.edu/activities/gsc/Tax/tax.html>
> Harvard GSC:
> <http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~gsc/issues/funding/section117.shtml>
>
> =================================================================
>
> What you can do:
>
> 1. Please forward this Email to all graduate students you know
> at other institutions, as well as your family, your
> friends, and any undergraduates you know who plan to go
> to graduate school in the future. (Maybe media also!)
> Convince them to take action.
>
> 2. Distribute this information to fellow students, faculty,
> department and graduate program directors, and
> administrators within your own institution. Organize a
> campus-wide response through your local graduate student
> representative group. Be sure that your administration
> is on top of this issue and is taking immediate action.
>
> 3. Call (or fax or email) your Senators and Representative!
> It is critical that your voice be heard by your own members
> of Congress. Shear numbers of calls will make an impact.
>
> 4. Make a special effort to swamp the members of the Conference
> Committee with calls, as they will make the ultimate
> decision in reconciling the bills. If you are
> represented by one of these Senators or know someone who
> is (DE/MS/NY/NM/IA/OK/NJ/ND), make sure contact is made!
>
> =================================================================
>
> How to contact your Senators and Representatives:
>
> House/Senate switchboard: 800-962-3524 or 800-972-3524
> or House: 202-225-3121 Senate: 202-224-3121
>
> Or check <http://congress.org> for addresses, direct phone
> number, district office number, email and more information.
>
> The following senators are members of the Conference Committee
> which will be composing the final version of the bill. These are
> critical people to target, especially if you live or go to school
> in DE, MS, NY, NM, IA, OK, NJ or ND.
> Roth (R-DE), Lott (R-MS), Moynihan (D-NY),
> Domenici (R-NM), Grassley (R-IA), Nickles (R-OK),
> Lautenberg (D-NJ), Conrad (D-ND)
>
> House Conference Committee members will not be announced until
> July 7th or 8th.
>
> Congress is now on Independence Day recess (through July 7th)
> and most members will be in their home districts. Use this
> opportunity to meet with them personally to discuss your concerns.
>
> =================================================================
>
> What to say in your calls and letters:
>
> Please be polite and courteous, but let them know that you oppose
> the loss of section 117(d), the tuition tax waiver for graduate
> students. This waiver is retained in the Senate version (S. 949)
> of the Tax Relief Act but eliminated in the House version
> (H.R. 2014). Be sure to mention that you are concerned that this
> issue be carefully considered at the meeting of the Joint House-
> Senate Conference Committee to reconcile the two versions of the
> Tax Relief Act. Explain to them your concerns for higher
> education and for research should the tuition tax waiver be lost.
>
> Here are some specific points to mention:
> - - - how this tax increase will impact your financial status
> (have numbers to illustrate your point)
> - - - how top students will opt to not pursue graduate degrees,
> threatening America's continued leadership in research
> - - - how graduate students will leave graduate school
> - - - how losing qualified students in your field will impact the US
> (e.g., biology: cancer and HIV/AIDS research
> engineering/physics: national defense)
> - - - how this tax will increase costs to universities, leading to
> an increase in undergraduate tuition
> - - - for more specifics, see NAGPS Talking Points:
> <http://www.nagps.org/Student_Aid/105th/Tax_TalkingPoints.html>
>
> WRITE, PHONE, and FAX these issues to your representatives
> immediately. The more they are aware that there is real and dire
> concern over this issue, the more likely that this issue will be
> removed in the House-Senate Conference Committee.
>
> =================================================================
>
> Thanks for your action!
>
> The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
> Graduate Student Association
> gsa-g@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu
> <http://www.med.jhu.edu/gsa/GSAmain.html>
>
> Harvard University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
> Graduate School Council
> gsc@hcs.harvard.edu
> <http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~gsc/>
>
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
> Graduate Student Council
> <http://www.mit.edu/activities/gsc/>
>
> Stanford University
> Graduate Student Council
> gsc@assu.stanford.edu
> <http://pangea.stanford.edu/~owen/gsc.html>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- End of forwarded message from Linguistic Society Of America
> -----
>
>
>
>
>
>
------- End of forwarded message -------