With tuition steadily increasing and state lawmakers slashing financial aid, students will get some relief in the form of a tax break from the federal government.

For the fist time ever, taxpayers will be able to deduct up to $3,000 in tuition costs on their 2002 tax returns. The change was made as part of a round of tax cuts passed by Congress in 2001 and is modeled on Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Make College Affordable Act.

Schumer introduced the bill as a way of helping middle-class families pay the cost of college tuition, which has increased faster than any other major consumer item, Schumer spokesman Rick Castellano said.

“Thirty years ago, my middle-class parents were able to send my brother, my sister and me to college. That is impossible today,” Schumer said. “This legislation will help us to make America a place where the best education is again available to all. And that’s really what it is all about, making college affordable for all families. This bill is a step in the right direction.”

The deduction will automatically increase to $4,000 in 2004, but Schumer is working with a bipartisan group of senators on a beefed-up version of the bill. The new bill would raise the deduction to $8,000 in 2003 and $12,000 in 2004 and would offer recent college graduates a tax credit of up to $1,500 for student loan interest.

Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw applauded Schumer’s attempts to make college more affordable but said that the tax cut would probably not have a large impact on the number of students who enroll at Syracuse University. He added that students are more likely to weigh each school’s respective benefits against the costs before making their college choices.

“I think it’s a good thing for those who can take advantage of it, but I don’t think it will have much of an impact on us,” Shaw said. “I think for most people the cost-value analysis will be more important.”

Shaw also said that the tax cut’s benefit will be limited for families outside the middle class. He added that the best way to assist lower income families in paying for college is through direct grants.

“In an ideal world, it would be for everybody,” Shaw said. “Politics is the art of the possible and this is probably what was possible at the time.”

Sean Vormwald, director of the SU/State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group, agreed that cuts to direct grants such as New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program are a greater threat to needy families’ ability to pay for college.

“Any tax deduction for students and their families is great, but a lot still needs to be done to make college more affordable for students in New York,” Vormwald said.

Castellano said that Schumer will continue to search for ways to cut college for all students. He said that in the meantime, however, it is important to help those middle-class families that will benefit most from this tax cut.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to those middle-income families that fight tooth and nail to get their kids into college,” Castellano said. “This tax deduction is hopefully just the beginning of good things to come for college students and their families, and Senator Schumer will continue to do all he can to make college affordable for all.”

Published on March 26, 2003 at 12:00 pm