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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Before pursuing a doctoral degree in art history, Rachael Vause determined that a tuition waiver, a $22,500 stipend and the ability to deduct the interest on her previous graduate school loans would allow her to enroll in a four-year program at the University of Delaware. Benjamin Franklin Kepley, 80, a retired Navy surgeon, decided he and his wife could sell their house in Florida and move into a continuing care retirement community because they could deduct a portion of the cost as a prepaid medical expense. And Jim Flanagan, a senior vice president at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, passed up several higher-paying jobs that would enable him to build a bigger nest egg because his current post let him send his children to college tuition-free. Now, Washington is considering changing those rules as part of a $1.5 trillion tax package moving through Congress, targeting for elimination provisions that people like Ms. Vause, Mr. Kepley and Mr. Flanagan relied on to make what they believed were financially responsible decisions. In ways large and small, the tax bills moving through Congress could penalize individuals for choices they made based on longstanding law. Left unchanged, the bills could drastically alter the financial situations of millions of Americans who cannot easily undo those decisions. People who took out student loans did so knowing they could deduct the interest payments on that debt. Graduate students who accepted tuition waivers... Link to the full article to read more