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| Economy |
| Providence mayor wants to tax college students |
| 2009-05-13 |
| PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The mayor of Providence wants to slap a $150-per-semester tax on the 25,000 full-time students at Brown University and three other private colleges in the city, saying they use resources and should help ease the burden on struggling taxpayers. Hey, Mayor. They already pay for services in the form of sales taxes, water and electric bills, and through paying rent. Mayor David Cicilline said the fee would raise between $6 million and $8 million a year for the city, which is facing a $17 million deficit. So yer still in da hole. If enacted, it would apparently be the first time a U.S. city has directly taxed students just for being enrolled. Hmm, sounds like as good an idea as a breathing tax. The proposal is still in its early stages. But it has riled some students, who say it would unfairly saddle them with the city's financial woes and overlook their volunteer work and other contributions, including money spent in restaurants, bars and stores. "We want to support the city as best we can, but financially is not really what we can afford to give," said Heather Lee, president of the Brown Graduate Student Council. "We're more able to provide labor, we're more able to apply the things that we're learning in the classroom, than we are to write a $300 check." Dad. Send more money. I'm being taxed for being. Cities often look for revenue from universities to compensate for their tax-exempt status, and many schools already make voluntary payments to local governments. Providence's four private schools - Brown, Providence College, Johnson & Wales University and the Rhode Island School of Design - agreed in 2003 to pay the city nearly $50 million over 20 years. The idea of a student head tax has been floated before in other cities, generally to start discussions about collecting money from universities in lieu of taxes. He said head tax. Does that mean giving or receiving? Or both? But Tony Pals, spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said he knows of no city that charges students a direct fee. That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard! "The bottom line is, a tax like this has never gone into effect," Pals said. "The timing is also unfortunate, given the significant amount of budget-cutting that institutions have had to go through because of the recession." The four schools generate more than $1 billion a year in economic activity, said Daniel Egan, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island. They employ nearly 9,000 people in a city of roughly 172,000. "We think the indirect and direct benefit of students within the community would outweigh any costs," Egan said. Cicilline's office said there is no study showing how much students cost Providence for the use of police and fire protection and other services. The city points out that the private schools' property, valued at more than $1.7 billion, is tax-exempt. All them drunk college kids really put a strain on Barney Fife. Many college students are already involved in tutoring, arts education and mentoring for public school students. Providence College, for instance, offers student volunteers to staff after-school programs, and Brown is raising money for a $10 million endowment to help the city school system. How many actually work part-time and pay city taxes? How many are registered to vote there? Even so, Cicilline said everyone should be expected to help the city through this economic crisis. He said he wants students to have a vested interest in their city instead of seeing themselves as visitors just passing through. Most of them are just passing through, bugwit. "It's really about a shared commitment to the well-being of your community that you're a part of," the mayor said. "Everyone should be doing their part and coming to the table." Giving at the collection plate is more like it. Students at Rhode Island College, a state school in the city, and the Providence campus of the University of Rhode Island would be exempt. A city head tax on students would need approval from both the City Council and state lawmakers. However, a similar measure failed in the state Legislature in 2005, and Rhode Island's colleges are likely to fight this proposal, too. |
| Posted by:Deacon Blues |
| #4 Guess what mayor? College students are old enough to vote in the next election. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-05-13 23:51 |
| #3 Illegals attending on 'Dream Scholarships' will be exempted...resulting in a drastic increase in applications by students of various backgrounds for the program since it would be racist to even question the 'status' of such applications. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-05-13 22:54 |
| #2 Good for him! Providing a valuable education in politics and economics for those students. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-05-13 21:41 |
| #1 Coming up next week: a head tax on the homeless. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-05-13 20:29 |