US Tax Bill 2017 : How it will affect International students studying in the USA
There is a bad news for International students studying in the USA. The US House of Representatives has passed a tax Bill that has the potential to impact International students who want to pursue master’s degrees or doctorates in American universities and colleges. In the newly passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Section 117(d)(5) of the current tax code has been repealed, and this provision is vital to students who pursue master’s degrees or doctorates and are not independently wealthy.
Earlier, students pursuing masters or doctorate degrees in the US who used to work as a classroom teachers or laboratory researchers in their respective universities were given a tuition waiver which used to help them lower their education expenses in the US due to the high tuition fees in various universities across the USA. Students are not entitled to receive this tuition waiver, instead the tuition waiver is deducted from their semester fees, hence making higher education affordable for the International students. No tax was deducted on this waiver under Section 117(d)(5), as this waiver was counted as non-taxable income as this money would not end up in the students’ pockets.
The new law will make meeting living expenses nearly impossible for International students who are not independently wealthy, and will produce an extra burden on the students. The new law will increase the education expenses of the students almost 10,000$ to 15,000$ every year. While students from a strong family background might remain unaffected by the new law, but the students who are already taking part time jobs and are also working in their respective universities for tuition waiver will be severely affected.
More than 70% students are not able to clear their student loans before the age of 30, so this will further make it difficult for the students studying in the USA.
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