It’s only the cost of a trip to Giant Eagle, but it was still heartbreaking for Tia Smith…. It’s only the cost of a trip to Giant Eagle, but it was still heartbreaking for Tia Smith.

The Pitt sophomore waited a month and a half to get her December paycheck from her job at the William Pitt Union Recreation Center, only to find that it was less than she expected by $52 — about the equivalent of her monthly trip to the grocery store.

Smith, like many other Pitt employees, fell victim to Pittsburgh’s newly increased Emergency and Municipal Service Tax, which was deducted from students’ first paychecks of 2005. Because of winter break, most students’ paychecks were already smaller than normal. Subtract an additional $52, and some students have to choose between paying rent and buying food for the month.

“It sucks,” Smith said. “We only get paid once a month, plus we got gypped out of half of December. They should have found a better way to do this. That’s $50 to food that I don’t have.”

She added that she works at the center often, so her paycheck wasn’t completely devastated by the additional deduction. Her concern is for people who work only 10 hours a week, for whom it may take several months to pay that tax.

“Being students, we don’t have a lot of money,” the anthropology-English writing double major said. “It’s frustrating. It would have been nice to have that money.”

The good news is that most student employees will be able to get their money back. Daniel Jeffreys, director of Pitt’s payroll department, said most students will be able to get reimbursed $42 of their EMS tax, so long as they do not make more than $12,000 during 2005 at a job in Pittsburgh.

Those student employees are responsible for filling out EMS tax refund application forms and providing proof of earnings for the entire year, including copies of W2 forms and a copy of their federal income tax returns. Students who meet these requirements can’t file the paperwork until after they have filed their income taxes in 2006.

This proves to be a problem for students like Jeremy DeRicco. The senior microbiology major will graduate in May and most likely return to his hometown of Philadelphia. He said he would not return to Pittsburgh just to file the refund paperwork.

“I would apply for it, but I don’t think I’d come all the way back to Pittsburgh to do it,” said the Computing Services and Systems Development employee. “That just sucks. I’ll just be losing $42.”

A student can also qualify for a refund on the tax if she holds a second job outside the city. If the job outside the city is her primary source of income, she can apply for reimbursement. In that case, she still needs to fill out the refund application and supply the city with proof of payment and income.

Students who obtain second jobs outside the city after paying their Pittsburgh taxes are exempt from paying the other municipalities’ EMS taxes, according to the city Web site. A state ruling earlier this year determined that Pennsylvania employees cannot be charged more than $52 a year for this tax, meaning they legally cannot be forced to pay it in more than one municipality.

Student employees are also concerned because the tax is taken out in one lump sum. Earlier discussions led some students to believe it may be taken out in weekly increments, but that idea was vetoed when city officials made the EMS tax due by Feb. 28.

The city’s Web site nevertheless states that Act 511 allows employers to deduct the tax in increments, provided it is done by the due date. For instance, if an employee receives four paychecks in January, the employer has the right to deduct $13 from each check.

Career Services employee Mallory Bucher was irritated that Pitt deducted the tax all at once. The sophomore business-Spanish double major has her paychecks directly deposited to her checking account, so she didn’t know the money had been taken out of her paycheck until her roommate brought it up to her. The deduction has made it more difficult to pay her sorority bills this semester.

“This is money we need,” she said. “It was most of my paycheck. I don’t see why they couldn’t have taken it out in small increments. Plus, I didn’t have any warning of this.”

Meanwhile, DeRicco would like to see the amount of the tax changed. He said it should be taken out based on how much people make each year.

“It should be determined on a percent-to-percent basis,” he added. “People making a lot of money should have to pay more than us.”

In the meantime, students will have to wait until next January, at the earliest, to get their $42 refunds — which might not help those who are going to be late with rent payments or students like Smith, who have to put off grocery shopping for a while.

“Hey, I go to the grocery store once a month, spend 50 bucks, and I’m good for a while,” she said with a chuckle. “This just sucks.”

For more information on the Emergency and Municipal Service Tax, check out www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us.