A bill was introduced in the Minnesota State Senate Tuesday that could ease the burden of debt for Minnesota college students.

The bill — authored by Sen. Matt Little, DFL-Lakeville, and Sen. Greg Clausen, DFL-Apple Valley — would provide up to a $5,000 tax credit to Minnesotans who are paying off student loans.

Students or parents making less than $94,000 a year or couples who file jointly and make less than $145,000 a year, would be given a maximum tax credit of $5,000 per year under the legislation.

The credits would decrease as incomes increase.

“As someone who is still paying off student loans, I am more than familiar with the pains they cause people who are still in the beginning stages of their professional careers,” Little said in a statement. “This bill could make a good dent in relieving some of the pressure caused by student loans on so many Minnesotans.”

Clausen said in a statement that student loan debt hurts not only students, but the economy by preventing graduates from making investments in things like houses or cars.

“Student loan balances by those in their thirties have doubled, further increasing the delay of these traditional lifestyle choices that stimulate our economy,” Clausen said. “I am cautiously optimistic we can finally begin to make some progress and find sound, bipartisan solutions to reducing student loan debt.”