Vice chancellor says Rep. Claudia Tenney was ‘false’ when recently asserting SU supports GOP tax reform legislation
Kiran Ramsey | Senior Design Editor
The elimination of a tuition waiver tax exemption, a provision in a contentious House of Representatives tax bill, could cause the cost of higher education for some students to skyrocket.
One of Syracuse University’s vice chancellors on Thursday, in a statement to The Daily Orange, said Rep. Claudia Tenney’s assertion that SU supports GOP tax reform legislation was “categorically false.”
Tenney, a Republican who represents portions of central New York and the Southern Tier, in a TALK! 100.7 FM radio interview Wednesday morning, said “there’s a number of people that aren’t getting a tax cut, that are in the higher end, I mean, the middle class is going to do very well … which is why the Syracuse Post-Standard, even Syracuse University, of all things, has endorsed the actual framework of the tax plan.”
“To be clear: To suggest that Syracuse University has endorsed or supports the tax reform legislation currently making its way through congress is categorically false,” said Mike Haynie, the university’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, in the statement Thursday.
Haynie, in the statement, noted a letter Chancellor Kent Syverud sent to Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), who represents Syracuse, dated Nov. 20. In the letter, Syverud expressed concern about several provisions of the House of Representatives tax bill.
On Wednesday, during a University Senate meeting, Syverud said SU has sent multiple letters to lawmakers expressing concerns about the GOP tax reform legislation. The chancellor said he has “grave concerns” regarding the House and Senate bills and how they would affect higher education, if passed.
The elimination of a tuition waiver tax exemption, a provision in the House bill, could cause the cost of higher education for some students to skyrocket. Universities can currently waive tuition costs for graduate students who do research or teach classes. The House bill provision would classify the waived tuition as taxable income.
The Senate version of the tax plan does not include the tuition waiver provision or other provisions that could dramatically affect most graduate students.
“The University is working around the clock to advocate against and share our concerns about provisions in the House bill that would negatively impact our students, faculty, staff and the University,” Syverud said in the letter to Katko.
This is a developing story. Check back for additional reporting and updates.
Published on December 7, 2017 at 1:49 pm
Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek
