Colleges in the city of Pittsburgh have rejected an offer from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to pay $5-million annually for the next five years, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Now the mayor says he will push the city council to vote Wednesday on his proposal to levy a 1-percent tax on college tuition. A majority of the council favors the tax, the paper reports. A bill introduced recently in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would prevent localities from taxing colleges.
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One Response to Pittsburgh City Council Might Vote on Tuition Tax
arrive2_net - December 12, 2009 at 2:11 am
Universities and colleges are usually seen as economic engines for communities, since they can often spawn profit-making and taxable entities such as bars, restaurants, convenience stores, think tanks, etc. Plus they may increase the level of general education of the people in the community. The presence of a college often serves to make a residential area ‘desirable’, thus increases property taxes. Colleges bring in students and staff who make taxable transactions. Of course colleges cost money too, in police and fire, road repair, and other services. If Pittsburgh makes an issue out of gouging tax-money out of the colleges, some of them may move on to friendlier fields, or others may avoid locating there. Singling out higher ed for such a tax seems to make no sense.