Petition Against Pittsburgh's "Education Privilege Tax"
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl went in front of Pittsburgh City Council and proposed a 1% tax on tuition for students to have the "privilege" of attending institutions of higher learning in Pittsburgh. Each student regardless of income, class load, and primary residence will be forced to pay this tax on top of their already monsterous tuition. Keep in mind that even those students who only live in Pittsburgh during the 8 month academic year will pay this year long tax.
Also, the proposal that Mayor Ravenstahl has publically released paints all college students to be leeches that suck out the resources of Pittsburgh and give nothing back in return. If you listen to the Mayor, the over fifty thousand college students paying tuition in this county are not "doing their fair share." While I cant speak for everyone I can speak for myself and I know that I work, pay taxes, and I do all of this while also persuing a degree and I do not understand how this is not giving my fair share back to the city.
If you have strong feelings about the opposition of this tax please let your voice be heard by signing this petition. One of the main reasons that College students were targeted is because younger citizens tend to not take a deep look into the politics of their municipal systems. Well students and concerned citizens..it is time to stand up and let our voices be heard!
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl went in front of Pittsburgh City Council and proposed a 1% tax on tuition for students to have the "privilege" of attending institutions of higher learning in Pittsburgh. Each student regardless of income, class load, and primary residence will be forced to pay this tax on top of their already monsterous tuition. Keep in mind that even those students who only live in Pittsburgh during the 8 month academic year will pay this year long tax.
Also, the proposal that Mayor Ravenstahl has publically released paints all college students to be leeches that suck out the resources of Pittsburgh and give nothing back in return. If you listen to the Mayor, the over fifty thousand college students paying tuition in this county are not "doing their fair share." While I cant speak for everyone I can speak for myself and I know that I work, pay taxes, and I do all of this while also persuing a degree and I do not understand how this is not giving my fair share back to the city.
If you have strong feelings about the opposition of this tax please let your voice be heard by signing this petition. One of the main reasons that College students were targeted is because younger citizens tend to not take a deep look into the politics of their municipal systems. Well students and concerned citizens..it is time to stand up and let our voices be heard!
Mayor Ravenstahl,
We write to you as a residents, employees of Pittsburgh, and students within the city limits. While I am sure that your office has already been flooded with emails and phone calls from Pittsburgh residents , it does not diminish that our feelings need to be known to you and your office. The picture that you painted of Pittsburgh students in your proposal for the %u201CPrivilege to be Educated in Pittsburgh%u201D tax is biased, unfair and a ploy to convince the city council and other government officials that your ridiculous tax is credible. While I am not so boastful as to say that the college students of Pittsburgh do not use the resources of the city, I will fight tooth and nail to make it understood that we are not a burden to the city of Pittsburgh but instead an asset.
It is a privilege for the city of Pittsburgh to have college students here, Mr. Ravenstahl and to say otherwise just solidifies the fact that you have no idea what you are doing with this city. It is the college students that spend money to boost the economy that makes this city run. It is the college students that work filling jobs, internships and pay the tuition that keeps one of the biggest industries in Pittsburgh alive. It is also the students that struggle the most to make ends meet and that is who you chose to tax?
One of your main arguments was that it is time for the college students to begin %u201CPaying their fair share.%u201D Please explain to me and all of the college students of Pittsburgh why working hard to get good grades and earn a degree while simultaneously supporting myself financially through a full/part time job (paying taxes) isn%u2019t doing my fair share in the City of Pittsburgh?
A great leader knows where his strengths and weaknesses lie and you are not showing that you have any knowledge of the strengths that lie in Pittsburgh. So stop treating the students as if they were a boil on the face of your nice clean city and give us the respect we deserve as intelligent, contributing and hardworking adults.
You have noticed I am sure, that this tax has been met with great resistance from the public and you have even gotten yourself tangled up with the PCHE. The reason for this is simple and I am sure you are a smart enough man to figure it out. You met this resistance the tax is wrong and you are wrong. I have tried to be as calm and respectful as I can be in this email considering the amount of outrage that I currently feel for this proposal.
Thank you for your time
College students are already paying enough to attend school. This tax may force students like myself to leave a college in the state of PA.
Pittsburgh has a history of being a college-friendly city with Duquesne, PITT, CMU, PPU, Robert Morrison, Carlow, Chattam and others already helping to support its economy. This tax is downright unfriendly to college students. Many students and their parents are already paying large sums of money to attend college and a higher cost is most undesirable. With paying almost $40k/year to attend Duquesne, I definitely don't need an even higher cost of attendance!
College students are already in debt as it is and a handful of them, such as myself, can barely afford to pay for college. We cannot afford another thing to pay for!!!!! DO NOT MAKE US PAY A TAX FOR GOING TO ANY FORM OF EDUCATION AFTER HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!
College students are being raped as it is with tuition fees and Mayor Ravenstahl is a bastard for discouraging higher education.
Students pay enough. plain and simople. This is not helping its hurting.
I think this tax is just a way to get money out of pure laziness. The $15 mill hole is not our fault. Most college students are already in the lower income bracet, why take even more from us?!?
I think that a tax on the already outrageously high college tuition is ridiculous. Not only am I, and many other students as well, going to be strapped for cash for years because of student loans, but I already live in the city, and thus pay 3% of my wages in city taxes and I pay taxes for the right to work in Pittsburgh. How is this not a fair share? I graduated and am trying to further my education now. Why hinder myself and so many others who are simply doing the same thing.
It's unconstitutional to tax students. Use your head next time, Ravenstahl. I'll personally sue if this goes through. It's just rediculous.
Many graduate students are Pittsburgh residents who own homes in Pittsburgh, vote, and work in the city. We contribute to the city's economy on many levels. An additional tax places an unecessary burdon on people already struggling to pay tuition. It also says to adults who return to school that the city government does not want you to better yourself through education; if you do, we (the city) will make you pay extra.
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7:33 am PST, Nov 30,
Shanna Price, Pennsylvania
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The Universities of Pittsburgh give so much to our community in jobs, service and cultural enrichment. Please don't approve this tax. It will not only discourage students from attending the colleges here, it will also discourage them from staying in a city where they are taxed for the right to their education.
boo
This is just wrong
Although college students do use city services, they also help drive the economy. The universities in the city of Pittsburgh bring many people to the city that may not have visited otherwise. The additional students living in the city impact sales of local businesses and retailers. In addition, having well educated citizens helps to secure finacial success.
In today's world getting a higher education is a must. By adding a tax on to student's tution it can set students off from attending college in Pittsburgh. My time in Pittsburgh has been a postive one, but I feel I would have to leave my university if the tax is added on because tution itself is already high. I believe student's education should not be taxed because it can it take away future students that do not want to pay the city for college.
We have the right to go to school and many pay ridiculous amounts of money to go get an education. Taxation of post secondary education will only increase prices of college even more and put more distance between many people and their goal of earning a degree. Many students all ready have enough college debt! Don't give them more, VOTE NO!!
