Tax bill hurts small college that serves needy in Kentucky

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Adam Beam, Associated Press
 Updated 5:39 pm, Wednesday, December 20, 2017

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A last-minute change to a sweeping overhaul of the nation's tax code means a private college that serves needy students in Appalachian Kentucky will lose an exemption that could cost it more than $1 million each year.

The tax bill Congress approved Wednesday includes a 1.4 percent tax on the large endowment earnings of private universities with at least 500 students. It was meant to apply to schools with large endowments like Princeton, Harvard and Yale.
 
Lawmakers crafted an exception for Berea College because of its unique mission. The school doesn't charge tuition because it only accepts students who cannot afford to pay. Instead, it relies on its billion-dollar endowment while its students take jobs at the school to help pay for their education, room and board.
 
But Berea's exemption was removed from the bill in the Senate because it violated the chamber's budget rules. Berea President Lyle Roelofs says a $1 million hit for a school with a $50 million annual operating budget means it might have to accept fewer students.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Tax-bill-hurts-small-college-that-serves-needy-in-12445405.php

[Freethinker65]

1. The exemption was actually written for Hillsdale College.

Berea just happens to also fit the very specific exemption criteria. Consider buying a broom from Berea. They are great. I have bought one for myself and as gifts.

[Tanuki]

2. Predictably, Mitch McConnell is blaming Democrats

http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Berea-College-feeling-effects-of-changes-to-tax-reform-bill--465458193.html

..."Senator Mitch McConnell issued a statement as well, saying "I’m frankly mystified that the Democrats stripped this provision from the bill. They didn’t have to, but they did. Democrats’ fanatical opposition to the tax bill reached such hysterical heights that Bernie Sanders proudly led the charge to deliberately harm Berea College, which offers free tuition to less fortunate families. When it came to crunch time, every Democrat in the Senate voted with liberal ideologues rather than stand with working people and their children. As a result of the Democrats’ actions, I’m working with my colleagues in the Kentucky delegation to protect Berea and its students.”

[BumRushDaShow]

3. "Democrats stripped this provision from the bill." -Uh no Turtle

YOU had to strip it since you insisted on using reconciliation rules to ram through the tax give away with less than 60 votes (and without the fear of a filibuster) so that Democrats would have NO SAY WHATSOEVER in anything that was in it.

This applies -

[Tanuki]

4. Moreover, Berea was doing just fine until McConnell et al came along

with the tax scam bill in the first damn place. The Republicans were the ones who initiated the penalty that will damage Berea College (which is in McConnell's home state).

[BumRushDaShow]

5. KY residents had a chance to put Alison Grimes in

and made their choice. I would not be surprised if he retires (like Eddie Munster) when he is up again in 2020.

[mr_lebowski]

7. Actually, Bernie and Wyden brought it up as a procedural point ... dunno if it slips by w/o their

Mentioning it ...

I have a feeling they mentioned it because a) the purpose of the Endowment Tax is to f*** over 'Ivy Tower Elite Liberals' at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc ... (while not costing students at such colleges enough to really bother TRULY rich people, for whom the cost was easily offset by the tax cuts overall) and b) the 'Pukes wanted to carve out exemptions to the rule to protect X-tian Colleges in their states ... even though that violate Senate rules (i.e. Byrd Rule) ...

Per a Politico Article:

The provision was added in the Senate to help Berea, which enrolls about 1,600 students and describes itself as “an educational institution still firmly rooted in its historic purpose ‘to promote the cause of Christ.'"

The school says it aims to help its staff and students “work toward both personal goals and a vision of a world shaped by Christian values.”

Watch now as right-leaning publications will repeatedly fail to explain the actual situation ... and run with McTurtle's BULLSHIT about how 'Dems, playing politics, don't want needy families to get free college!!!'.

No, Mitch ... they DO ... in REALITY, they didn't WANT THIS ENTIRE DAMN BILL you shoved down their throats ... without YOUR bill ... MITCH ... this NEW TAX doesn't exist in the FIRST FUCKING PLACE, you lying piece of shit F***FACE @$$#013 ...

Furthermore, there was NO SPECIFIC VOTE on THIS ONE PARTICULAR PROVISION of the Bill you LYING C***S*****.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Technically it is the Parliamentarian's job to determine what's in and out

based on the rules the Senate itself set forth for reconciliation conference reports. So if they were that concerned about it, all they had to do was to offer it as legislation under regular order/rules and let the chips fall where they may... and they knew doing that would be a certain fail.

[Corgigal]

6. My son graduated from Berea

It's a beautiful school and we will vote our dirty senators out. That school has over a billion dollars to spend to find the dirt.

Pissed off a bunch of people.