Pitt opposes newest 1 percent tuition tax proposal
By: Michael Macagnone / Senior Staff Writer
Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 in News
Pitt announced yesterday that it opposes the mayor’s newest proposal to tax college students.
The University said in a statement that it would oppose any attempt to tax its students, citing its current commitments to the community and its support of the city’s government.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s 2010 budget proposal includes a provision that would charge students 1 percent of their tuition — $135 for in-state students in Pitt’s School of Arts & Sciences — to help fill a $15 million hole in the city budget. Under the Act 47 Recovery Plan, Pittsburgh has to increase contributions to the city’s ailing pension fund, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Before the mayoral election, Ravenstahl proposed a flat $100 fee on all college students per year, as well as fees on hospital bills, to raise the additional revenue. The current proposal — “The Fair Share Tax” — would tax Carnegie Mellon students $400 per year, according to the Post-Gazette.
After it was proposed, the University said on Oct. 12 it would oppose any effort to “directly or indirectly alter the tax-exempt status of the University.”
Pitt mentioned its contributions to the first Pittsburgh Public Service Fund, a group of non-profit organizations that voluntarily contributed funds to the city. The organizations contributed more than $14 million during 2005, 2006 and 2007, according to Pitt’s statement.
The statement said the Pittsburgh City Council has not yet approved a new Pittsburgh Public Service Fund for the years of 2008, 2009 and 2010. Pitt feels that the fund is the “most efficient and effective” way for it to contribute to the community, the statement said.
Pitt increased its financial pledge to the newest fund, according to the statement. The statement also mentioned various taxes currently paid to the city, such as for parking, non-educational property and “amusement taxes,” as well as Pitt police’s support of the community.
Mayor Ravenstahl’s office did not respond to three phone calls requesting comment. Pitt spokesman John Harvith said Pitt would not comment further on the situation.
16 Responses to “Pitt opposes newest 1 percent tuition tax proposal”
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Mayor Ravenstahl made it quite clear during the campaign that he intended to balance the city budget on the backs of students and those seeking medical care in the city.
Like the dependence on casino wagering, the city once again looks to a regressive tax rather than even attempting to develop or encourage any form of economic development.
You might as well cough up the $135 to the Mayor right now. He learned at the G20 that college students won’t stand up for their rights.
Besides — do you think that tear gas canisters are free? They cost about $135 each! And paying for out of town riot police to keep you in line? That’s way more than $135 per student arrested!
I hope the Pitt News won’t report on this tax again. We’re tired of hearing about it and want the newspaper to “move on”.
So just pay the Mayor and hope he grants you a few rights in the future. Right now he’s taxing the “privilege” to get an education in the city of Pittsburgh.
And you thought he didn’t know what “HAMMER AND ANVIL” meant.
Why is it always so benign to think that when ever government has a shortfall that it is acceptable to raise taxes? Their are many in this country with subpar jobs, out of work as we know. Their are others that have jobs but have had endure reduced work weeks or no increase of wages. Their are others who have even lost medical benefits. One of the interesting things about all this is the talk about how the educational system of this country is faultering behind the rest of the world. This time around taxes are falling on the educational institutions of this city to make up the windfall. Its bad enough that education in this country has become overpriced, one almost has to go into major debt to get an education. This taxation only brings home this whole mentality of why this country is falling behind. Is there no end in sight to the madness? This country and city truely needs some sorta fundamental change in the course that it is headed, cause without any sort of brakes being put on these increases in taxes we as a country and city are falling back into a time when the very institutions of this country were created, taxation without representation. Now is not the time for taxation, but liberation and liberation in finding new ways to create jobs for the 21st century and beyond. Those jobs of tomorrow start at American Institutions of learning not in a flowery garbage can that sits on a Pittsburgh street corner, makes you wonder is that our country now a days a garbage can ready for refuse? Something to think about.
The Mayor is letting you off easy. He could have made this a 10% tax. You could be sending him $1350 instead of just $135. You’d pay it of course because you have no choice.
What are you going to do? You don’t vote. You won’t be here when the Mayor runs for office again anyway. So he’s got a captive audience with no political voice that he can tax however he likes. Think you’ll go elsewhere for an education? Your credits won’t transfer. He knows that.
Keep in mind that once a politician gets a tax on something, it never comes off. You pay the Johnstown Flood Tax every time you buy alcohol. This “temporary” tax was to be used to rebuild the city of Johnstown after the great flood. First enacted in 1936 you still pay it today. (I guess Johnstown was REALLY damaged. The powers that be wouldn’t use that tax for something else today — would they? No, of course not. They’re STILL rebuilding Johnstown I am sure.)
So you can be sure that once this tax is put on your tuition you and every student in the future will be paying it forever.
The only thing that will change in the future will be the percentage. It may be 1% today, but it will increase over time. The “temporary” Johnstown Flood Tax started out at 6%.
Today it is a full 18%.
Of course the Mayor could just put a surcharge on your text books or other essential student items. Think of all the money he could raise with a laptop tax! Or he could tax that free bus pass you have in your pocket every time you take a ride.
You’ll pay those new taxes too because you’ll have no choice.
Luke might need a raise to buy a new home or a new car or maybe just to take a nice vacation from his stressful job and the money has got to come from somewhere! There are any number of reasons why he’ll come back to the well and see how much more he can get. Once he starts down this road there is no turning back. Students are a cash cow.
So be glad he’s only asking for 1%. Maybe you’ll get lucky and graduate before he decides he needs more.
What about the rest of Pittsburgh? Why can’t residents outside of Oakland who AREN’T students see the connection between Pitt’s success as a university and Pittsburgh’s success as a city?? Why is there the “us vs. them” mentality when it comes to Pitt students and Pittsburgh residents?
Nobody wants to face the music, but the fact is, there is no more steel industry here, there is no housing market here, there are no jobs here, there is no economy here outside of hospitals and colleges. Face it, Pitt’s failure is Pittsburgh’s failure. If taxes like these keep students from attending Pitt, and keep Pitt from growing, Pitt will die. If Pitt dies, Pittsburgh dies. PERIOD.
Most students in Oakland aren’t even registered to vote in Pittsburgh, and therefore can’t stand up for their rights here IN Pittsburgh. Shame on the students?! Please reconsider… Shame on the residents of Pittsburgh for allowing their elected officials to oppose taxes and infringing upon the rights of the very population (STUDENTS) keeping this city alive. Pittsburgh is barely hanging on as it is, and one of the only lifelines left are the students.
But go ahead… Keep standing behind Mr. Ravenstahl. The longer you back him, the longer he may keep you and your dying city hanging by a thread. But sooner or later, the thread will break. Who do you blame then?
What people are forgetting is that Pitt students already give back to Pittsburgh. The Pitt police force often does duty well outside the borders of Oakland in working with city police. Not only that, the University supplies the area with thousands of good jobs. And guess what, without students, no University jobs. In fact, from a monetary perspective, the students give far more to Pittsburgh than the city gives to us. How often does a fire occur Mr. Ravenstahl?
As students, we need to fight this to the death. It’s both illegal and un-fair, and it won’t get passed. Pittsburgh would become the first city in the country to do this. And that $135 number is just for a under-graduate in the School of Arts and Sciences. Instead of Ravenstahl’s number, I would like to see an average Pitt student number such as myself – a grad student in the School of Medicine. More like $400 for us and tuition is already too high.
If Pitt is so concerned about how this 1 percent surcharge on tuition will hurt the students, then why the heck does it feel free to raise tuition 6-9 percent every single year? Hypocrites, the whole gang of big-buck-earning Pitt leaders.
I find it ridiculous that college students keep getting penalized for furthering our education. As if tuition and other related costs aren’t enough, lets pile on another fee. College students as a whole already contribute an immense about to the area. How much revenue do local businesses get because of us? I do hope Pitt continues to challenge this and keeps Ravenstahl out of our already empty pockets.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is still trying to scrape up money to fund the city budget, and he’s still wrong. Pittsburgh should concentrate on its existing activities that generate money rather than on inventing new, illegal taxes.
Continued . . .
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-14931-Pittsburgh-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2009m11d11-Ravenstahl-still-doesnt-get-it
Using military weapons on civilians and declaring peaceful assemblies illegal, firing tear gas into freshman dorms and then taxing college students to pay for it all makes TIME look at Ravenstahl for their MAN OF THE YEAR!
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09316/1012888-53.stm
Pittsburgh benefited when police created riot conditions and arrested innocent students. Lawyers and the judicial system got their money and the city gets all of those hours of community service. Now Pittsburgh wants to prey on students and their families again, and why not? Pittsburgh benefits again—more $$ in the coffers. The problem is, millions of viewers around the world saw those You Tube videos that speak to police brutality in this most exploitative of cities, and they help establish student innocence. Now, on top of the G20 shame to our city, if these taxes are imposed, Pittsburgh will go down as the first city in the history of the U.S. to tax college students for the “privilege” of studying there.
Incredibly, families are struggling more than any time since the Great Depression to keep their children in universities; college students have it worse than ever in their lifetimes. What is Pittsburgh’s response?—–Pittsburgh’s figured out a way to suck even more from them.
This is shameful! No child of ours will ever attend college in Pittsburgh.
That is all.
Luke needs those tax dollars! He’s got to find a way to fund the libraries without taking R.A.D. dollars away from the Pirates and the Steelers. Ordinary citizens just might be mad enought to vote city counsel out of office if the libraries closed. So taxing students makes sense to him.
College Students cave in and give community service before standing up and defending basic constitutional rights and they don’t stay in the city long enough to become a political force.
They’re the perfect mark for a new tax.
The only thing they could do would be to vote with their feet. Running away to State College might be an option. So perhaps he needs to find a way to tax PENN STATE students.
What’s to say that you have to be IN the city of Pittsburgh to be taxed BY it?
I wonder if he could get those riot Miami and Chicago riot police to invade State College and collect a few “taxes”? At the very least he might be able to get some community service and “fines” out of the Penn State students.
I have to admit, good point. But the *city of Pittsburgh* let the police go after innocent students on their own campus in their own dorm rooms that you’re paying for. So I wouldn’t let them off the hook for anything. Their attititudes towards students need adjusting. They should be there to protect, not inflame.
As for the deciders on tuition increases when the economy’s at its worst for families….they are predators, too.
The Post-Gazette article was vague re. what Ravenstahl’s role will be. They don’t have nominees yet. My impression is, the journalist who wrote the article was not clear about what this invitation to NYC really means. The world would be really loopy if a man who failed to protect Pitt students during G20 and now wants to tax them, was even nominated. He’s probably friends with someone at Time and this offer was extended to him so he could look important to his constintuents.
What really turns me off is that Ravenstahl did not tell voters he was going to go after Pittsburgh’s students for tax $$, until *after* the election. The other turn-off is that he somehow got re-elected as if having a Mayor who does not respect constitutional rights or college students is somehow a good thing.
I actually thing that Mayor Ravenstahl is going to be on the selection committee, not the selection himself (God help us…).
As far as the 1% tuition tax, Ravenstahl was floating this before the election, along with a pissible 1% tax on hospital bills. The sad part was, as the endorsed democrat, his election was no more contested than that of Karzai in Afghanastan…