Students need better tax breaks

WHEN it comes to tax breaks for a college education, the U.S. Congress is a misguided skinflint.

That’s not to say there aren’t deductions for college expenses. There are several scattered throughout the code, though it’s like a few kernels spread throughout a chicken pen.

The college breaks that exist are complicated, stingy and restricted by income level. Almost every other write-off receives a more generous indirect subsidy. And the tax incentives for non-college items are incredible.

The most you can deduct for tuition expenses is $4,000, if you even qualify. If you are a whaling captain "recognized by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission," though, you can deduct as much as $10,000 a year, according to Publication 553 of the Internal Revenue Service. Nice work if you can get it.

By John F. Wasik, Bloomberg News

Full Story: http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_3665573