Post Gazette: "An effort to block Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's proposed 1 percent tuition tax has begun in Harrisburg.
State Rep. Paul Costa, D-Allegheny, issued a news release this afternoon saying he will seek to 'prohibit tuition taxes such as the one proposed by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on students attending Pittsburgh universities and colleges."
10 comments:
Its really great to see someone standing up for those seeking higher education. The fact that he is a state rep is all the more reason for us to hope he will have some influence on the way things are done, and have a big voice for us. The concept of this tax is ludicrous to begin with, and its nice to know that we are not the only ones who think so. We deserve a voice speaking up for our rights, and hopefully he will be our voice.
I'm glad to see that people are getting out there and voicing their opinions. I know many CMU students went to the meeting to voice their objections to this tax. It's also great to see that our State Representative is standing up for the students. I guess at this point we will just need to continue voicing our concern and wait for the vote and pending court case
I am glad to know that the State Representative is understanding of the students on this issue. I would very much hate to see a tuition tax be placed on Pennsylvania schools, not only because I attend schools here, but because that would set a precedent for other states around the country. And if everyone, is fine with a 1% tuition tax, who is to say that this number won't also eventually increase? A tuition tax does not seem like a very good idea to raise money, and I'm glad to see that others agree and are willing to do something about it.
What baffels me is why there would be a tuition tax in the first place. Students pump money into Pittsburgh since we do everything from eat campus to buy supplies to rent apparements off campus. The fact that students are coming to a school in Pittsburgh rather then attending a college or university in their home state, which would cost significantly less in many cases, is what confuses me since the tax could really encourage people to seek schooling other places where their is not an added fee to go with their already high payments for college.
This is really promising that the state legislature realizes how outrageous this tax is. Now I will be the first to say that when I heard about the tax initially, It seemed reasonable however, now that I have re-evaluated it I can see how ridiculous it is. Students may not be the lifeblood of the city, but they are certainly not a leach on the community. What we drain in city resources we more than make up for in what we spend at stores, restaurants, the PAT fee and parking. Mayor Ravensthal seems to think that just because we are students we do not give back at all. The truth is that we do, my hope is that if it gets to that point, a boycott will show the mayor how much we mean to the city.
It's good to know that people are taking stands for things that they don't believe is right, but can we think about it logically? There are over 30 universities in Pittsburgh. Our economy is in a really low place right now. It makes sense to put a small tax on those that can afford (even with student loans and scholarships) that higher education. Yes, it's not the best place for a tax, but in this city it really does make sense. Sometimes the public needs to understand that for the good of the nation, individuals do need to stretch their wallet more than they think they should. There are so many students here, and even a .5% increase of tuition would greatly help the city. If you don't like the tax, there are other schools in other cities. It probably won't get passed, but just to play devil's advocate, would it kill the students to pay a few hundred dollars more a year? Yeah, we'd probably have to adjust our student loans, but who isn't in debt right now? If we can help get the city on track, we can then slowly get ourselves on track.
It is great to see someone taking action to try to stop this tax. I have seen a lot of students voicing their opinions and doing everything they can to stop this tax, however it is great to see a State Representative standing up for students and helping give their concerns a voice. I agree with the article that there are many students who can barely afford to pay for their books and housing, and this tax, however small it may seem to some, would represent a significant added burden. Now that we have support everyone must continue to take advantage of all available chances to voice our opinions so they can be taken into account.
While I understand that the government is "strapped for cash" just like the rest of us, this is the exact wrong group of people to target for tax increases. We, as the college students of Pittsburgh, are likely the people who will be stimulating the economy both now and in the years following our education.
We are the people who need to be able to pay for ourselves to live here so that we can learn as well a probably get a job at some point. However, it is good to see that the people who this would affect are willing to speak up against what they think is unfair.
The one percent tuition tax may not seem like a lot, but for a cmu student paying 50k a year, it's a serious chunk of change. I am pleased to see someone standing up for higher education and fighting for the students who already struggle to pay tuition each year. Yes, we are in hard economic times but a one percent tax on education shows that school is not a priority for the Pittsburgh government. Hopefully this state rep will block this bill and the petition gain more supporters as well.
The mayor has said that he plans to go on with the tax even in the face of legal opinions that it might be illegal, why would the fact that another law has been passed to prohibit it slow him down? (Assuming that the preemption passes at the state level)
At most I'd guess that he'll push for the tax anyway, and if he gets it in during this session it'll probably pass. When/if the preemption statute passes it'll be time for legal challenges all around to try to see who can hire the best lawyers and get their way.
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