Yep, I was down voted in another thread for pointing out the the same thing. 20 years ago, I had to pay tax on all my employer provided tuition assistance for graduate level classes. Even if my employer cuts a check directly to the university, it's still counted as my income.

So why should it be any different for a university as the employer? This is just a loophole being closed. Just get rid of the damned "dissertation credits" and problem solved.