Financial Aid Students To Submit Tax Returns

Next fall the Financial Aid office (FAO) will require undergraduate applicants to submit copies of their 1979 federal tax returns in addition to their parents' returns, Martha C. Lyman, director of financial aid, said yesterday.

In the past, students submitted only an informal statement of their personal income and assets to the office. Students who did not file tax returns in 1979 will again submit an informal statement, Lyman said.

Lots of Support

The new regulation stemmed from student dissatisfaction with the current system, Lyman added. The FAO receives two to three complaints a year from students who believe financial awards have been unevenly distributed, she said.

Lyman said the new requirement will verify the students' assets and net earnings during the previous year. The FAO found "big discrepancies" between the stated and actual incomes of many families when it first required parental tax returns five years ago, she added.

No Incentive

Although the requirement seems "equitable" and tries to create a fairer system, it would "destroy a student's initiative to try to earn any money," a student who asked not to be identified, said yesterday.

However, James T. Dauterive '79 said yesterday the requirement is "a good idea because the purpose of financial aid is to make sure that those people who need aid get it." He added that, "If someone is cheating, then they are short changing the people in need."