It’s time California started to tax students and tuition
Pittsburgh Sets Vote on Adding Tax on Tuition
The mayor of Pittsburgh calls it the “Fair Share Tax.” But to officials at the city’s 10 colleges and universities and many of their 100,000 students, it is anything but.
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On Wednesday, the City Council is expected to give preliminary approval to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s proposal for a 1 percent tuition tax on students attending college in Pittsburgh, which he says will raise $16.2 million in annual revenue that is needed to pay pensions for retired city employees. Final Council action will be on Monday.
The tax would be the first of its kind in the nation, and other cities are watching closely as they try to find ways to close their own budget gaps.
How embarrassing. This is something that California should have thought of first!
Let’s face it, children and students are a drain on society. California should continue on the rich legacy of Prop 13, and institute new taxes and fees to help the shining starts of the state’s future: retiring baby boomers.
It’s not enough that California de-fund schools, California should take the next step and start adding extra fees. It’s a well known fact that families distract people from working and producing innovations that benefit humanity. It’s a win win – make it less attractive to have families and you’ll get more innovations, and more revenue to support the aging population.
Come on California – we can beat Pittsburgh!
January 17th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Steal from the young give to the old.
January 17th, 2010 at 11:21 am
tax on students attending college…revenue that is needed to pay pensions for retired city employees
This makes me see red.
January 17th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
The young don’t vote. So it’s fair!
January 17th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Just when you think you’ve seen every stupid tax proposal, they come up with something new. Unbelievable.
January 17th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Yes… tax the future talent to support the old and decrepit.
January 17th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
If you think about it, part of the sales tax you pay when you buy baby food or diapers for your 1 year old goes to programs for the “old and decrepit” as well.
Which is fair only insofar as one does indeed need baby food and diapers when old and decrepit…
January 17th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
If the seniors can’t live on their current pension without raising taxes, just euthanize them.
Less burden on the pension fund.
No new taxes.
Win. Win.
Vote for me as Mayor of Pittsburgh next election.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Now that’s out-of-the-box thinking, mike.
January 17th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Wow. That is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. Yep, tax the young to buy the old’s votes. Lots of old farts in Pittsburgh.
This is just a microcosm of this country. Give the elderly lots of entitlements now. Let the future generations figure out the mess we leave them. After all, we won’t be around to deal with it.
January 17th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
This is a great way to solve the brain drain problem in Pittsburgh. Fewer students enrolled = fewer students that will drain away.
January 18th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I think the mayor should make the decision to leave his post and fall on his sword first. It is ridiculous that the parents of college students must bare the burden of a tax that has nothing to do with them. Either cut spending or leave office. Raising taxes is not the way out of this. They need to expand their tax base by incentive for rehabilitation and development of real estate. They can do this by rezoning and creating redevelopment district designations. All the industry’s I see are taking cuts, maybe the city needs to go into bankruptcy and modify it pension contracts.
January 18th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
unbarable!
February 21st, 2010 at 5:37 am
[...] my god! This is an even better idea than the tuition tax, and other taxes on children, floated on this site earlier! Why aren’t we taxing lazy [...]