Students discuss the Fair Share Tax

Student leaders gathered in a City Council meeting Friday to discuss The Fair Share Tax, which… Student leaders gathered in a City Council meeting Friday to discuss The Fair Share Tax, which could charge students 1 percent of their tuition. The Pitt News wanted to find out if their views were reflective of the student body.

Sophomore Matthew Keith, who’s studying rehabilitation sciences, said the Fair Share Tax would anger his parents and give him a little less money for food. But he’s resigned himself to thinking it will pass.

“There’s nothing I can do about, so if it happens, I’ll just have to find money somehow.”

Kelly Smith, a senior studying sociology and legal studies, said she didn’t understand how the tax could be legal. The government gives large amounts of money, through grants and other forms of financial aid, to students, she said. “I don’t understand how you can tax that.”

“We give a lot back to the city,” he said, citing research as an example. “To ask for even more, I think, is just a little bit wrong.”

But not all students were outraged or confused by the tax.

Freshman Ashley Harris, who’s studying political science, seemed to take it in stride.

“I don’t think it would make that big of a difference,” she said. “I’m on scholarship. I’d still be able to attend.”