Division of Government and Public Affairs ♦ Telephone: 202 939 9355 ♦ FAX: 202 833 4762 April 30, 2013 The Honorable Lloyd Doggett United States House of Representatives 201 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Re: Endorsement of the American Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2013 (H.R. 1738) Dear Representati

Division of Government & Public Affairs 1 Dupont Circle NW Washington, DC 20036-1193 P 202 939 9355 F 202 833 4762 www.acenet.edu April 17, 2013 The Honorable Charles E. Schumer United States Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Re: Endorsement of the American Opportunity Tax Credit Permanence an

Office of the President 1 Dupont Circle NW Washington, DC 20036-1193 P 202 939 9355 F 202 833 4762 www.acenet.edu Comments to the House Ways and Means Committee Tax Reform Working Group on Education and Family Benefits April 15, 2013 Introduction On behalf of the higher education associations listed below, which repres

Office of the President 1 Dupont Circle NW Washington, DC 20036-1193 P 202 939 9355 F 202 833 4762 www.acenet.edu Comments to the House Ways and Means Committee Tax Reform Working Group on Charitable/Exempt Organizations April 15, 2013 Introduction On behalf of the higher education associations listed below, which repr

April 12, 2013 JOINT STATEMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS DEBT, EQUITY AND CAPITAL WORKING GROUP ON BEHALF OF: American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) American Council on Education (ACE) American Ho

Federal Tax Provisions Affecting Colleges and Universities Through teaching, research and innovation, and public service, America’s colleges and universities make critical contributions to our society. Collegiate experience impacts students – as compared to those without it – in a number of ways: higher lifetime earnin

Background Documents on Tax Issues of Interest to Research Universities American Opportunity Tax Credit Charitable Giving and Universities and Colleges IRA Charitable Rollover Lifetime Learning Tax Credit R&D Tax Credit Section 117-d Qualified Tuition Reduction Section 117 Qualified Scholarship

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Hearing on Tax Reform and Charitable Contributions February 14, 2013 Testimony of Mark W. Huddleston President of the University of New Hampshire Good morning, Chairman Camp, Ranking Member Levin, and members of the Ways and Means Committee. My name is Mark W. H

Key Higher Education Tax Provisions Expiring December 31, 2013 Above-the-Line Deduction for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (IRC Sec. 222): The maximum deduction is $4,000 for an individual earning up to $65,000 ($130,000 for a joint filer), phasing down to $2,000 for those earning $80,000 ($160,000 for a joint

 Higher education associations urge congressional leaders to proceed cautiously when considering changes to the current tax deduction for charitable donations. 

 Higher educations associations urge President Obama to proceed cautiously in considering changes to the current charitable deduction.

This report provides a brief overview of the higher education tax benefits that are currently available to students and their families. The report contrasts higher education tax benefits with traditional student aid, presents a brief history of higher education tax policy over the past 60 years, summarizes key features of the available tax benefits, and provides JCT estimates of revenue losses resulting from individual tax provisions.

 Group of 12 higher education associations submit testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on education tax incentives and tax reform.

Dear Senators Schumer, Kerry and Menendez:

On behalf of the American Council on Education and the undersigned higher education associations, I write to strongly endorse the American Opportunity Tax Credit Permanence and Consolidation Act of 2012 (S. 3267), which will make a number of important reforms to the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and Lifetime Learning Credit benefiting middle class families.

 

 Community Testimony on Extending Higher Ed-related Tax Provisions

 Higher Ed Association Statement to Finance Hearing on Charitable Giving Incentives

 Charitable Giving and the Federal Charitable Income Deduction

 Higher Education Community Statement to the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce on the Need to Repeal the Three Percent Withholding Provision

 

 A group of 26 higher education associations, including AAU, urge House and Senate appropriators to extend six expired or expiring higher education-related tax provisions. 

Dear Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Camp: On behalf of the American Council on Education and the undersigned higher education associations, I write to urge you to include an extension and expansion of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) in the pending tax extenders legislation. We are also eager to see other expiring higher education tax provisions, notably Section 127 Employer Provided Educational Assistance, the Student Loan Interest Deduction, and the expanded Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, extended as soon as possible.

Dear Mr. Mazur: On behalf of the American Council on Education and the undersigned higher education associations, I respectfully submit the following comments in response to the above referenced Notice and Request for Comments (“Notice”). The Notice seeks public comment on the feasibility of instituting a community service requirement as a condition for receiving a tax credit for tuition and related expenses. See 75 Fed. Reg. 15,772 (March 30, 2010). The undersigned associations represent a broad spectrum of the nation’s higher education community.

Dear Sir or Madam: On behalf of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the associations listed below, we are providing comments on the proposal to simplify the procedures under which employers substantiate an employee's business use of employer-provided cellular telephones or other similar telecommunications equipment requested by Notice 2009-46. NACUBO is a nonprofit professional organization representing chief financial and administrative officers at more than 2,000 colleges and universities. Our mission is to promote sound financial management and business administration at institutions of higher education.

Dear Representative:

We are writing to urge you to support H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, when the House considers it later this week. During the past year, the higher education community has monitored, with increasing concern, developments in the nation’s financial and credit markets. News this week has further highlighted the potential for these events to negatively impact colleges and universities and the students they serve. We learned that hundreds of institutions are unable to access critical short-term funds used to finance their day-to-day operations. At least one major research institution has, as a precautionary measure, instituted a hiring and construction freeze as a result of the ongoing credit crisis.

 

Dear Senator:

We are writing to urge your support of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, legislation which will be voted on by the Senate later this evening. During the past year, the higher education community has monitored, with increasing concern, developments in the nation’s financial and credit markets. Today’s news has further highlighted the potential for these events to negatively impact colleges and universities and the students they serve. We learned that hundreds of institutions are unable to access critical short-term funds used to finance their day-to-day operations. At least one major research institution has, as a precautionary measure, instituted a hiring and construction freeze as a result of the ongoing credit crisis.

 

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Baucus, and Ranking Member Grassley: On behalf of the American Council on Education and the undersigned higher education associations, I am writing to express our strong support for several provisions included in the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 3996): the one-year extensions of the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and the IRA Charitable Rollover; and a provision that would permit tax-exempt organizations, including colleges and universities, to invest directly in domestic hedge funds without being subjected to the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT). We are extremely grateful that they were included in this legislation and urge you to include these provisions, in particular the extensions of the qualified tuition deduction and IRA Charitable Rollover, in any tax legislation to be passed before the end of this year.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the American Council on Education and the undersigned higher education associations, I am writing to express our strong support for several provisions included in the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 3996): the one-year extensions of the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and the IRA Charitable Rollover; and a provision that would permit tax-exempt organizations, including colleges and universities, to invest directly in domestic hedge funds without being subjected to the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT). We are extremely grateful that they were included in this legislation and urge you to support its final passage.

Section 117 (d) of the Internal Revenue Code allows college or university employees to exclude from taxable income qualified undergraduate tuition reductions they or their immediate families receive from their employer. This exclusion applies to any education below the graduate level (including K-12), unless the recipient is a graduate student engaged in teaching or research.

Dear Conferees: I write to you on behalf of the American Council on Education (ACE), and the undersigned organizations, to express our strong support and concerns for several provisions included in H.R. 4297, the Tax Relief Act of 2005, as passed by the Senate on February 2, 2006. We appreciate your consideration of our views on provisions that are likely to have a substantial impact on our higher education institutions and our students.

Dear Chairman Grassley, On behalf of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 62 leading public and private research universities, I write to highlight two changes in tax policy that our members seek.

AAU endorses the exclusion from gross income all funds used for qualified higher education expenses that are received in the form of scholarships, fellowships, and grants. This is consistent with the favorable tax treatment given to other forms of Federal educational assistance. Until 1986, scholarship, fellowship, and grant funds used for higher education related room and board expenses received tax-free treatment, but the 1986 tax bill narrowed this exclusion.

AAU endorses the modification of current tax law affecting Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to enable taxpayers to donate IRA proceeds to charities, including universities, tax-free. President Bush included this proposal in his original tax plan, which was initially released during the 2000 presidential campaign. The proposal was included again in the President’s budget proposal submitted to Congress in February, 2002. On February 8, 2002, Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Rick Santorum (R-PA), along with 8 other co-sponsors, introduced S. 1924, which includes the IRA charitable rollover proposal along with several other incentives for charitable giving.

As part of the "Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001," which was signed into law by the President on June 7, 2001, Section 127 of the Internal
Revenue Code was extended permanently for both graduate and undergraduate courses, beginning January 1, 2002. This benefit enables employers to assist workers to further their education at a cost of up to $5,250 per year without tax, either to the employer (who may deduct the expense), or to the employee.

Issue: In 1998, Congress passed a three-year moratorium on new taxes on commercial Internet transactions. As that moratorium draws to a close, forces are aligning on either side of the issue. On one side are groups pressing to keep the Internet a tax-free zone, arguing that taxation on consumer transactions will stunt the development of ecommerce. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) has stated that he favors prohibition of sales taxes on Internet commerce. On the other side are groups, led by the National Governors Association, who oppose the ban on Internet taxation, arguing that electronic commerce should be taxed neither more nor less heavily than other commerce. These groups argue that future budgets for states and localities may be jeopardized by a continued ban on Internet taxation, with concomitant threats to state and local support of public education.

Summary of 2001 Tax Bill SUMMARY OF 2001 TAX BILL June 15, 2001 The President signed a tax bill into law on June 7. The final bill (H.R. 1836) did not give the President everything he had wanted, but it came close. The various tax reductions it contained totaled $1.35 trillion over ten years, and the measure included m-The President signed a tax bill into law on June 7. The final bill (H.R. 1836) did not give the President everything he had wanted, but it came close. The various tax
reductions it contained totaled $1.35 trillion over ten years, and the measure included major reductions in tax rates.

Testimony on Regulations to Implement Intermediate Sanctions Statute Testimony of Dorothy Robinson, Yale University on Regulations to Implement New Intermediate Sanctions Statute March 16, 1999 American Council on Education Public Hearings on Proposed Regulations Under Section 4958 March 16, 1999 Dorothy K. Robinson Vi