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Senator proposes tax-free textbooks |
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Thursday, 05 April 2007 |
by LILLIAN HOGAN
News Editor
College students enrolled in any one of North Carolina’s 111 postsecondary institutions may see an extra $80 per semester in their wallets if a bill passes to exempt textbooks from taxes.
Sen. Harry Brown (R-District 6) has introduced Senate Bill 1392, Sales Tax Exemption for Certain Textbooks, in an attempt to help students strapped for cash.
A 2005 General Accountability Office study reported the cost of
textbooks has risen at a greater rate than tuition and inflation. Book
prices go up 6 percent a year – about twice the rate of inflation.
Student Government Association President Forrest S. Gilliam, Vice
President Whitney E. Baker and Treasurer Will D. Windley said while a
tax exemption such as this would help Appalachian State University
students, especially summer, graduate and part-time students, it would
not affect Appalachian like it would the UNC-system schools that do not
have textbook rental systems.
After reading the bill, Gilliam called it “useless” and the SGA
representatives had some questions about the definition of textbook
within the context of the proposed tax exemption.
“I don’t think [the bill] is enough,” Gilliam said. “I don’t think we
should accept this as the end because it’s about $68 savings, maybe
even less than that if you’re on the rental system here.”
Baker agreed and said the proposed bill can be viewed in two ways.
“You can look at it like every little bit helps and we’ll take what we
can get, or you can look at it as a feeble attempt to satisfy students
for the time being,” she said. “We appreciate it – thank you – but I
think Forrest is absolutely right. It is not enough.”
Appalachian will soon use a two-year rental book cycle instead of three
years, which means students will be buying books much more often.
“If they can get the definition right about what is an actual textbook
… the more frequent textbook buyers going into the two-year cycle will
benefit,” Windley said.
Brown said this is why he proposed they bill – to alleviate financial strain on frequent college textbook buyers.
“The cost of textbooks is out of hand,” Brown said in a press release
of his proposed bill. “Many students receive financial aid, which often
does not cover their entire textbook bill … at least a dozen states
already exempt sales tax from textbooks. It is time that North Carolina
does the same.”
In addition to Brown, six Republicans, including Mecklenburg and Union
county’s Sen. Eddie Goodall, and Democratic Sen. Vernon Malone of
Raleigh sponsor the bill.
“Looking at the folks that sponsor it, they sponsor a lot of things
that don’t ever happen,” Gilliam said. “I think it’s a gimmick. That
doesn’t mean that something like this can’t work, but it’s a bill only
a couple of sentences long.”
With the rental system, Appalachian students pay far less for books than most UNC-system school students.
The average North Carolina college student spends $800 to $1,200 annually on textbooks, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Nationally, the cost of textbooks nearly tripled from 1986 to 2004,
according to a study by the Federal Government Accountability Office.
Last month, the UNC Board of Governors approved a plan to help reduce the costs of textbooks for students.
By January, for large introductory courses, all campuses must guarantee
they will buy books back at the end of the year or offer book rentals.
Under the new rules, professors have a deadline for picking textbooks,
which would make cheaper, used books more available to students.
“We don’t want [the bill] to distract from things we can do right here
on this campus,” Gilliam said. “One thing is that faculty need to get
their [book] orders in on time.”
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