Students looking for extra spending money could benefit from state legislation supporting the elimination of taxes on college textbooks. After a nation-wide increase in textbook costs, Ball State University Student Government Association wrote legislation supporting the proposal being considered by state politicians, SGA President Betsy Mills said. The legislation passed unanimously in SGA yesterday and will be sent to the General Assembly to show Ball State student support, she said. The proposal may be included in this years state budget, but if it isn't, it could return next year.
This legislative term, the bill supporting the elimination of sales tax on textbooks was stopped in committee, and the House and Senate never had the opportunity to vote on it. Because of this, the bill itself can not be included in the budget, but the issues from the bill might be.
Tom Morrison, Ball State's vice president of Business Affairs and associate vice president of Human Resources and State Relations, said the final budget will not be known until Sunday.
The SGA legislation is basically a research summary that lets the Indiana General Assembly know Ball State is in favor of the state passing this bill, SGA president pro-tempore Kyle Ellis said. Ellis is a volunteer designer at the Daily News.
"I would be very excited if it made it through the Indiana General Assembly," he said. "Textbooks are expensive, and college students don't have a lot of money. The Indiana General Assembly has a responsibility to its constituents to make textbooks affordable. A lot of times it's really easy for officials to forget teenagers and college students."
According to the SGA legislation, a 2005 government report stated college students spend approximately $900 a year on textbooks. If the tax were eliminated, students would save an average of $58 a year, or $29 a semester. Eliminating textbook taxes would result in a 6.5 million dollar loss in tax revenue for the state out of a 26.3 billion dollar budget.
The general affect on the rest of the state isn't that great, legislation author Frank Hood said. The loss would be unnoticeable to the state, but noticeable in a good way for students, he said.
According to SGA legislation, students would not be the only ones benefiting from the tax elimination. Campus bookstores may increase their business, which could help Muncie's economy.
When college students have money, they usually spend it, Hood said. The money would eventually drop back into the Muncie economy in some way, shape or form, he said.
Mills agreed. Whether it is $7 for a movie or money for a dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, the money saved could be spent in Delaware County instead of going state-wide, Mills said.
Both Mills and Hood encouraged students to show their support for the bill by writing letters to their state senators and representatives.
Politicians' staff members really do spend time reading letters, Hood said. If enough people show support, they will realize that this is an important issue, he said.
College costs in general are expensive, Mills said, and this bill is something legislators need to take seriously.
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