The Tax Relief Act of 1997 declared interest paid for student loans is tax deductible. From 1998 - 2001, the total allowable deduction increased $500/year.
Since 2001, the maximum allowable tax deduction for student loan interest paid each year has been $2,500.
In the same amount of time, the average debt of a student receiving a bachelor's degree has increased from $17,616 to $28,720 (NPSAS).
This petition proposes extending the $500/year increased deduction from 2001 - 2012, resulting in the maximum allowable deduction for student loan interest paid each year to be $8,000.