Letter: GOP tax plan would hurt higher education

Thursday November 16, 2017

Editor:


As an alumnus of several academic institutions and grandfather whose oldest grandchild is poised to enter college, I need to call attention to the devastating effects the House Republican tax cut proposal would have on America's colleges and universities.

This hastily conceived legislation would harm higher education in numerous ways: by creating new excise taxes on college endowments; by eliminating institutions' access to tax-free funding via the municipal bond market; and by restricting itemized deductions in a way that will greatly reduce contributions in support of the wide spectrum of American charitable institutions. It penalizes students by repealing the deduction for interest on tuition loans, the Hope Scholarships Tax Credit and the Lifelong Learning Credit, thereby increasing student debt and making it harder for Americans to afford college tuition.

If this were to become law, it would have a devastating effect on American higher education, a system that continues to be the envy of the world. I urge all who take pride in and support their alma maters, who have children considering higher education and who value American innovation and global economic competition, to join me in urging our representatives in Congress to amend or reject this harmful bill. Congressional Republicans seem bent on pushing it through without adequate deliberation and debate. It is time to refrain from such haste in the legislative process. America deserves better than this.

Thomas B. Souders
Wyomissing

GOP tax plan would hurt higher education