(November 8, 2017 – Jarret Cummings) The following message was sent to the EDUCAUSE CIO listserv earlier today. It highlights the negative implications of current Congressional tax proposals for institutions and their stakeholders, including EDUCAUSE members as institutional employees.
Dear EDUCAUSE Members:
Many news outlets have reported on the House tax proposal. What you may not have seen is how detrimental its provisions would be to the financial health of our member institutions. The ACE-led Tax Working Group has assembled a clear breakdown of its implications.
EDUCAUSE members may be particularly concerned about the bill's proposed elimination of tax benefits institutional employees receive for tuition waivers for themselves and their families, and for tuition reimbursement employees receive for taking courses as part of their professional development. (See: http://www.acenet.edu/Pages/Higher-Education-and-Tax-Reform.aspx#tabContent-6).
The House hopes to vote next week, and the Senate could release its bill any day. Please visit the Working Group's "Contact Congress" page and make your views known to your Congressional representatives today.
In the meantime, EDUCAUSE will continue to work in support of higher education community efforts to inform Congress about the serious problems the current tax bill will create for colleges, universities, and their many stakeholders. For more on how it would impact your employee benefits, please see CUPA-HR's tax proposal site .
Sincerely,
Jarret Cummings
Jarret Cummings is the Director of Policy and Government Relations for EDUCAUSE.