Student loan forgiveness = Tax debt

Student loan borrowers who take advantage of the government's income based repayment program and eventually have part of their student loan debt forgiven after paying a % of their income for a minimum of 20 years may be in for a painful surprise. Under current law the IRS considers the amount forgiven as taxable income. Read the details in this New York Times article: "For Student Borrowers, Relief Now May Mean a Big Tax Bill Later" by Ron Lieber: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/your-money/for-student-borrowers-a-tax-time-bomb.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&emc=eta1
Lieber ends the article: The IRS expects immediate payment and the IRS, "alas, does not have an income-based repayment program."