The City of Pittsburgh has proposed a “tuition tax”  to be levied on the city’s college students. Unfortunately for Penn State, State College hopes to follow suit.

According to the Centre Daily Times, the potential Pittsburgh tax would amount to 1% of a student’s tuition. That equates to $27 for community college students and $400 for Carnegie Mellon students, with Penn State somewhere in between.

Cities with colleges, such as Pittsburgh and State College, insist that students utilize city services such as roads and police forces without paying taxes. This free-rider dilemma particularly pummels State College, where 75% of residents are nontaxable students.

However, such a tax may be illegal, and this issue is currently on the plates of city and university officials in Pittsburgh. For obvious reasons, students oppose the idea.

According to mayor-elect Elizabeth Goreham, State College would be interested in levying such a tax – if the initiative passes in Pittsburgh, that is.

But aren’t we paying enough money already? Tuition just rose 4.5% for in-state students. Also, the borough isn’t overtly strapped for cash.

True, the tax of a couple hundred dollars seems negligible in comparison to our bloated tuition cost, but we’ve got to stop tacking on additional expenses at some point. Otherwise, sidewalk taxes and oxygen taxes might lie in our future.

Without Penn State students, State College would have to change its name to “Another Craphole in Central PA”. In essence, State College needs us, they should let us keep our money, and they should be glad we chose Penn State.

[Pic]