The U's student body could save up to $700,000 a year if the sales tax on all required textbooks is removed by a bill proposed for the upcoming Utah State Legislative session.
The Associated Students of the University of Utah are trying to make this tax exemption a reality by getting students involved in the legislative process. Student leaders from every state institution have jumped on board in support of the bill.
Collectively, the bill would save Utah college students roughly $4.7 million annually, which is approximately $60 per student.
"We have a very high probability of this passing," said Marko Mijic, the ASUU government relations director. "We're very optimistic."
A similar bill went to the legislature in 2000 and again in 2006, but it didn't reach the floor for debate.
Since 2006, the cost of textbooks has risen two times faster than the rate of inflation, Mijic said, causing ASUU to push hard for the tax cut. ASUU has made sure the bill was a student driven initiative to show legislature they care about the cost of education.
"It's been more of a grass-root effort," said Basim Motiwala, ASUU vice president.
Students have been encouraged to contact their representatives and voice their support of the bill, he said.
ASUU also encouraged students who buy textbooks at the University Campus Store to sign a petition in support of the bill to raise student awareness and provide further evidence to lawmakers that the bill has the support of the student body.
The petitions help students feel a sense of ownership of the bill and that they are helping it become a reality, Mijic said.
ASUU has lobbied the legislature, even during Winter Break, to gain support. House Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, is sponsoring the bill. ASUU is trying to find a senator to sponsor the bill but hasn't been successful yet.
Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, a member of the Senate's Public Education Appropriation Committee, is against the bill. The sales tax students pay on textbooks goes to the state's general fund, which then redistributes that money down to tax supported services. Hillyard said the repercussions might deny the general fund $4.7 million each year.
"There are too many exemptions right now," Hillyard said. "If you take $4.7 million out of the general fund, how can you pay for other programs?"
He said the size of the exemption would likely be the reason it would not pass.
Rep. Carol Moss, D-Salt Lake City, questioned how tax supported programs such as Medicaid, health and human services, and disability services would be affected by the loss of $4.7 million in revenue.
Hillyard said that the government would probably turn to other sources to compensate for the $4.7 million the bill will deprive the general fund of every year in revenue. He isn't sure what sources they would be, he said, however, assured there would be no tax increase to compensate for the loss.
Moss thinks $4.7 million is a reasonable price for the state to pay if it means lowering costs for college students -- the amount would likely cover repairing a road, she said.
"I think there needs to be some kind of relief," she said. "Anything we can give (students), I'm in favor of."
Hillyard shares the sympathy, having put his own children through school, he said.
In 2006 the bill would have denied the general fund $4 million in annual revenue, and in 2000 the bill would have cost the general fund $1.2 million annually, according to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst. Also, the projected loss of local and transit revenue seven years ago would have been $408,000 annually, had the bill been passed.
"Some other compelling need seemed greater (in 2006)," Moss said, and the need to pay for it outweighed saving Utah students an extra $60 each.
Adam David, a sophomore in pre-history, would put his extra $60 toward rent on his apartment, as well as other stuff on which he is "already getting billed ridiculously on, like other student fees," he said.
Mijic hopes the savings will allow students to graduate earlier, he said.
"We want to make a difference," Mijic said. "We want to impact future generations, and (this bill) is a way we can do that."
m.mcfall@chronicle.utah.edu
