LANSING- Michigan would eliminate the 6-percent sales tax on required college textbooks under a proposal intended to help families defray the costs of higher education.
"It doesn't make sense to me that we tax them, then turn around and give them money to pay for the cost of their education," said Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba.
Rep. John Stakoe, R-Highland, said he sponsored the bill because he's trying to find an additional way to help defray expenses. Stakoe sponsored similar legislation three years ago, but it never got a hearing. The current bill is before the House Tax Policy Committee and has not been scheduled for a hearing.
The average cost of required textbooks at a four-year university is $898 a year, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Based on that figure, the average full-time student in Michigan would save almost $54 a year if the sales tax were eliminated
But with hundreds of thousands of students at public and private two and four-year institutions in Michigan, that would mean millions of dollars of lost tax revenue.
Sales taxes support the state school aid fund, which in turn helps finance K-12 education.
"Any time there's a hit or an impact to the school aid fund, that has to be made up somewhere," said Terry Stanton, public information officer for the state Treasury Department. Stanton said that a cost analysis on the legislation has not been done yet.
Student government leaders say the cost of textbooks may make the difference between attending college or not.
"Most students feel the plight of the expense of textbooks," said Rebecca Thompson, a Northern Michigan University senior who chairs the Association of Michigan Universities (AMU).
AMU represents student governments at the state's 15 public universities
"It's the first step in the right direction," Thompson said of the proposals
Other sponsors include Reps. John Stahl, R-North Branch; Geoff Hansen, R-Hart and Barb VanderVeen, R-Allendale.
Thompson said the individual savings would be worthwhile.
"As a student who buys my own textbooks - even if it saves me $5 to $10 a semester - its something I would support."