Money is a commodity all Ball State University students wish they had more of. At the beginning of each semester, a large chunk of cash is devoted to an essential aspect of most courses: textbooks.
Yesterday, Student Government Association passed legislation supporting a resolution that would eliminate textbook taxes. The legislation will be sent to the Indiana General Assembly to show Ball State's support of the resolution. The General Assembly will vote on the state budget Sunday, and the only way students will see any change is if there is enough support to justify passing the resolution.
The benefits of the bill, including more money for students and the community, merit full support from the Ball State student population as well.
The most obvious benefit of the bill is more money in students' pockets. The less money spent on books, the more that can be spent on other things - regardless of if they are necessary. Students live on a relatively slim budget as it is, and every extra dollar counts.
Each year, students spend an average of $900 on textbooks, $58 of which goes toward taxes. If the resolution passes, it would mean the 18,000 students at Ball State would have a collective $1.4 million in extra money to spend. On a state budget scale, just over a million dollars doesn't seem like much, but the effects on Ball State and the Muncie community would be vast.
It's logical to assume most of the money Ball State students stand to save would be spent at the university or in Muncie. In a centralized area, the money would boost the economy much more significantly than it would on a statewide level. Students could spend the extra money on anything from rent to Carter's hot dogs, but either way the money and benefits would ultimately benefit local businesses.
Current textbook taxes go directly into the state budget, but it's anyone's best guess where they might go from there. One thing is for certain; however, there is no provision that says the tax money from textbook purchases at Ball State will directly benefit students.
If the resolution is passed, students will decide how the money can best be spent and act accordingly, instead of the state appropriating funds as it sees fit. In the end, if students get to decide how to spend the money it's more likely it will go directly to the Muncie community instead of being disbursed throughout the entire state.
Free money could be more than a daydream, but only if Ball State students show full support of the resolution before the budget is finalized on Sunday.
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