Please Extend the Tuition and Fees Tax Credit

by Barry Binder
(Lewisville, Texas)

We are the parents of a child who will be entering college in the Fall of '10. The unplanned birth of our child occurred when we were both very young (18). Over the past 18 years we have fought against difficult circumstances to put ourselves through college (with student loans), and provide our son with a life that would prepare him for a collegiate experience that was different than our own. Our household income has increased significantly over the past 2 years with my wife finishing her degree and starting her career, but this doesn't resolve the debt we have incurred to pay for our own college education(s), nor the debt accrued to raise our son.

At 18, our son is an outstanding student that has been accepted into a very prestigious collegiate program (University of Texas School of Architecture), but will likely not qualify for any scholarships/aid because of our current household income. Thus, we are looking at incurring additional debt to finance our son's education, and he is looking at incurring his first debt at 18 years old to supplement this. The extension of the Tuition and Fees Tax Credit will not prevent us from having to incur new debt, but it will certainly help.

We ask that Congress strongly take into consideration the circumstances of taxpayers like my wife, son, and I when weighing the need to extend the Tuition and Fees Tax Credit past 2010. Thank you for your time.

Barry, Angela, and Peter Binder
Lewisville, TX