Pittsburgh Delays Vote to Tax Tuition - Nytimes.Com

Pittsburgh Delays Vote to Tax Tuition - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/education/17college.html?_r=0

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Pittsburgh Delays Vote to Tax Tuition More Articles in Education »

By IAN URBINA Advertise on NYTimes.com Published: December 16, 2009 TWITTER

LINKEDIN In a sudden change of course, Pittsburgh’s mayor asked the SIGN IN TO City Council Wednesday to postpone a vote on the nation’s E-MAIL

first tuition tax on college students, holding out hope that the PRINT

city’s 10 colleges and universities will agree to provide SHARE economic help voluntarily.

“Over the last several days, thanks to your strength, conviction and support, we have made progress,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wrote in a letter on Wednesday to City Council members, citing discussions with Pittsburgh’s nonprofit community. “I feel that a one-week hold on this bill is an appropriate measure.”

University officials and students, who have been asking for weeks for the mayor to drop his proposed 1 percent tuition tax, hailed the decision as a victory. The mayor is racing the clock because two of the Council members whose votes he needs to get the measure approved are leaving the Council at the end of the year.

In addition, state lawmakers are considering a bill that would explicitly prevent municipalities from enacting such measures.

If approved, the tax would affect students attending college in Pittsburgh and would raise more than $15 million in annual revenue that is needed to pay pensions for retired city employees. Mr. Ravenstahl said he still hoped to get an agreement with the universities or seek a final vote before Dec. 29. MOST POPULAR

The proposal was being watched closely by other cities struggling with similar E-MAILED BLOGGED SEARCHED VIEWED

budget gaps. Students and college officials in Pittsburgh have argued that the 1. The New Old Age: High Blood Sugar Linked to tax would set a bad precedent in altering the tax-exempt status of nonprofit Dementia organizations and pose an unfair burden on institutions that already contribute 2. I Was Misinformed: Distracted Aging substantially to the city. 3. This Land: Mystery From the Grave Beside Oswaldâ€™s, Solved Council members said Wednesday that they believed the tax would probably be 4. Through the Eyes of the Maasai 5. Well: The New Gazpachos avoided. 6. CHARLES M. BLOW: â€˜A Town Without Pityâ€™ “I don’t see this vote taking place next week because I think both sides are 7. 36 Hours in Lecce, Italy looking for a graceful and face-saving way to get out of the conflict,” said Doug 8. The 6th Floor: George Saunders's Advice to

1 of 3 8/10/13 1:16 PM Pittsburgh Delays Vote to Tax Tuition - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/education/17college.html?_r=0

Shields, Council president and an opponent of the tax. Graduates 9. GAIL COLLINS: Playing Post Office Mr. Shields said he believed that the mayor would take the tax off the table and 10. PAUL KRUGMAN: Phony Fear Factor

that, in return, the universities would agree to some payment and help in Go to Complete List Â» lobbying state lawmakers for changes in how the city raised revenue.

But some Council members said the tax was still a possibility.

“There are still five strong votes backing the mayor’s tax if he has to go that way,” said Councilman Jim Motznik, a supporter of the tax. “We don’t want to impose this tax on students, but what we are really talking about here is the cost of one extra textbook so that we can avoid raising property taxes or laying off a hundred cops.” House hunting in ... Surrey Mary Hines, chairwoman of the Pittsburgh Council of Higher Education and ALSO IN REAL ESTATE » Winterfold house in Surrey was built in 1887 president of Carlow University, said that once the mayor removed the threat of Warming up the interior a tax, universities would probably be willing to commit to a three-year voluntary payment.

That commitment would be predicated, however, on a broader agreement from the city to work together on larger budgetary strategies, like raising the service tax that everyone who works in the city pays to about $144, up from $42, Ms. Hines said. To make such a change would require approval from the state legislature, and the mayor has asked the universities to help him lobby for that change.

In Harrisburg, the state capital, lawmakers sought to get in front of the mayor’s Ads by Google what's this? plan. Representative Paul Costa, Democrat of Turtle Creek, has drafted a bill No GMAT MBA Programs that would explicitly prevent municipalities from taxing tuition. Earn Your MBA from an Accredited Program. No GMAT Required. Apply! The tax, were it imposed, would also probably face a court challenge. www.MBA.DegreeLeap.com

Mr. Ravenstahl has said that if the universities do not agree to a voluntary payment, he will be left with no other option but to impose the tuition tax. The city currently forgoes about $50 million in real estate taxes from nonprofit institutions, he contends.

The City Council has twice delayed action on the measure, which would cost students $27 a year at the Community College of Allegheny County and $409 at Carnegie Mellon University.

Dave Gau, a student government board member at the University of Pittsburgh who has helped organize opposition to the tax, said the delay in the vote was a clear victory for students.

“I hope that by Monday, the City Council will see that the tax is extremely unfavorable and spend their efforts coming up with alternatives,” Mr. Gau said.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 17, More Articles in Education » 2009, on page A30 of the New York edition.

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Past Coverage Pittsburgh Sets Vote on Adding Tax on Tuition (December 16, 2009) Slump Revives Town-Gown Divide Across U.S. (May 9, 2009) YOUR MONEY; What's In the Bill For You (February 13, 2009) The Congressman, the Donor and the Tax Break (November 25, 2008)

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