The House Republican tax bill heading to the floor this week cuts approximately $65 billion in higher education tax benefits. And while the Senate proposal skips over most higher education tax provisions, both proposals also add $1.5 trillion to the deficit, putting critical investments like Pell grants, as well as non-education federal investments that promote financial security and economic mobility, at increased risk going forward.By hacking away at higher education tax benefits to pay for tax cuts that send the biggest benefits to higher-income families and corporations, the House proposal pulls money from students and families in debt. At the same time, both bills would set the stage for even more harmful cuts in future Republican budget proposals. The GOP already points to the deficit to justify budget proposals that severely underinvest in—or cut—federal spending on successful programs like the Pell grant. Make no mistake—tomorrow’s students will be asked to pay for today’s corporate tax cuts.So what should lawmakers have done instead? A tax bill designed to (a) create both a more equitable and economically efficient tax code, while (b) leveraging existing aspects of the code to improve the higher education system, would have looked very different. That alternative tax reform bill would have had to include a major overall shift in spending priorities to focus on low- and middle-income families, and it also would have treated higher education tax provisions very differently.Below is a quick look at four of those provisions.
