Textbook taxes could be eliminated

Students griping about the high price of textbooks may be in for some relief if a bill passed in June by the House Of Representatives is passed by the Senate and signed by the governor in time for the start of the academic year.

The bill would exempt textbooks from the state's sales tax, saving each student an estimated $30-$40 per semester.

State legislators visited Ann Arbor in January to hold a discussion on the implications rising text book prices could have on the University community. Their primary focus was on the proposed House bill.

State Rep. Deborah Cherry (D-Burton), chair of the House Colleges and Universities Committee, said the forum was an attempt to understand how the bill would affect Michigan students.

"It makes most sense to talk to the people directly affected by (the bill)," Cherry said. "It was really productive."

JOHN KRAFT/Daily LSA senior Jeffrey Firestone, vice president of the Student Book Exchange, testifies before members of the Michigan House of Representative's College and University Committee last winter. Firestone said textbooks should be tax-exempt.

LSA junior Jeffrey Firestone, vice president of the Student Book Exchange, said the proposed bill was a good idea that would help all students. He said that while the tax exemption would not save students large amounts of money, every bit of savings helps.

"It's the simplest way that the state can support the universities,"

Firestone said. "This would help mitigate the cost of books without the state having to provide (additional) loans or programs to students."

Olga Savic, former Michigan Student Assembly vice president, spoke in favor of the bill, saying the additional saving could go to other basic living necessities for students.

"That's about the cost of paper for resumes, a couple electric bills, or even a whole new book," Savic said.

Barry Rosenberg, a '98 alum and former MSA representative, said that the bill is a good idea, but legislators and community members should not stop with this proposal.

The actual cost of textbooks is a major problem, Rosenberg said. He said the lack of competition among bookstores leads to inflated prices.

"The problem lies with the publishers and the retailers," Rosenberg said. "Both parties are to blame."

Rosenberg said one way to alleviate this problem is to make the list of required course texts, compiled by the Textbook Reporting Service,public, rather than just releasing it to the bookstores, as the service does now.

"There could be value in making the list available to public," Rosenberg said. Other bookstores then would be able to order some required books, and students would have more choices when purchasing their books, Rosenberg said.

"This is an outstanding first step," Rosenberg said of the bill. "But the University needs to look at the entire local market."

Though Firestone said he realizes that "students were going to be in support of the sales tax decrease," he said there is a downside to the proposal. The money lost from the sales tax, Firestone said, would be taken from funds currently given to primary education.

"Public school funding would be hurt, and typically (these schools) are more dependent on state aid," Firestone said.

One thing the forum brought to light was the high cost of coursepacks and other required material, which are not currently included in the bill.

"The issue is not just textbooks, it's all class materials," Rosenberg said.

Cherry said this is an issue worth examining.

"You've got to look at the high cost of textbooks, but coursepacks and software could be included also," Cherry said.

The bill now moves on to the Senate.

09-08-98