A few weeks ago I wrote on Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s plan to impose a 1% tax on tuition for Pittsburgh university students. TaxProfBlog reports today that the Wall Street Journal has their own take on the issue (subscription required). The city defends the tax on the grounds that college students utilize city services, and that the amount of tax imposed on students is incrementally small on the amount these students spend on tuition anyway.
The “Post Secondary Education Privilege Tax” or “Fair Share Tax” is justified, the city argues, because the students use city services — roads, police and fire protection — and should pay for them. Moreover, the city contends that the tuition tax, which would range from $27 for students attending Community College of Allegheny County to $400 for those attending Carnegie Mellon, amounts to a small charge for services.
“This is really not a difficult thing for folks to pay when they’re receiving services” from police and fire departments, among others, said Yarone Zober, chief of staff for Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who proposed the tax Nov. 9.
It’s an interesting point, really. At first glance it seems fair to charge a small fee to students for the privilege of using city resources. Nonetheless, under that logic the city should also charge tourists a visitation tax. Or a similar tuition tax on private school students boarding within the city limits. Graphically speaking, the amount of tax raised per student looks a little like this (courtesy WSJ).
