Rebate rules rile graduate

New Brunswick students counting on a tuition rebate from the provincial government may be disappointed the first time they apply.
The rebate,thought advertised as being based on tuition, depends also on the amount of provincial taxes paid by the applicant.
Sarach Bernard, who stayed in the province partly because of the program, found this out of the hard way." I was counting on the rebate as a way to get back on my feet after graduating from college," Bernard said." I thought I qualified because I paid tuition, but it turns out I don't because I didn't make enough to pay New Brunswick taxes.
The New Brunswick tuition rebate program, which is administered by the Department of Finance, has been available since January 2007 to students who have graduated from a recognized post-secondary institution.
The program website says applicants can get a non-tax-able rebate of 50 per cent of any tuition paid after 2005,with a maximum lifetime rebate of $ 10，000.There's a $ 2,000 limit per student each year and the applicant must be living and working in New Brunswick.
" The point of the program is to encourage people to stay or move to New Brunswick to work after attending post-secondary education," said Marc Belliveau, spokesman of the Department of Finance."You don't have to be from New Brunswick or even attend a New Brunswick school to apply. And applicants have a 20 year period from the time they graduate to collect rebates up to $ 10，000."
But Bernard said calling the program a tuition rebate is misleading.
Even if a student's tuition is eligible, he or she has to have made enough money to pay New Brunswick taxes the year prior to applying.
"I made just over $ 18，000 last year and had tuition credit to apply to my income tax, so it brought me to a zero balance for New Brunswick tax payable," Bernard said."What that means is I didn't end up paying New Brunswick taxes last year and since the rebate is actually based on that, I was denied."
To date, more than 5,720 students have applied for a rebate, with 142 of those being rejected.