STUDENTS SUPPORT TAX-FREE TEXTBOOKS

This Sunday, Nov. 11, the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) passed a resolution supporting a sales tax exemption for textbooks similar to exemptions in Conn., Mass., Minn., N.J., N.Y., N.D., S.C., Tenn. and W. Va.

The text of the resolution is as follows:

4.01 F07 Tax-Free Textbooks
Author: Troy Carter, Sacramento City College, Region 2

Whereas, According to the United States Government Accountability Office, over the past two decades higher education textbooks costs have risen at twice the reate of inflation and now equal approximately 72% of the cost of tuition for community college students, and the financial burden of textbook purchases is amplified by th sales taxes levied on them by the State of California;

Whereas, Textbook purchases are currently tax-exempt in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, and legislation making textbook purchases tax-exempt has been introduced and is in various stages of passage in the legislatures of Georgia, Texas, and Virgina;

Whereas, A student conducted at the request of the Advisory Committee on Student financial Assistance, a nonpartisan panel appointed by Congress to advise it on educational access issues, recommended legislative action to establish tax exempt status for textbook sales as a means to decrease financial barriers to higher education; and

Whereas, The Student Senate for California Community Collges supports any efforts to reduce out-of-pocket expenses to students consistent with maintaining a high-quality educational envirtonment, and believes tax-free textboooks should be a high priority legislative item;

Resolved, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges supports legislative efforts to amend California Code allowing for the exemption of sales tax on textbooks purchased by college students; and

Resolved, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges work with the Student Senate Council, system partners, other statewide student groups, and local associated student organizations, to make collaborative efforts to achieve the passage of such legislation.

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Hoa Long Tam
Student Trustee, Marin Community College District
President, College of Marin Student Senate
SS120, 835 College Ave., Kentfield, CA 94904
Tel 415.485.9390 Fax 415.456.7770