College textbooks to be tax exempt?

Florida legislature proposes bill that could save students up to $100/year

By Jennifer Gager

A new bill in the Florida Legislature could save students $50 to $100 dollars on textbooks a year.
Freshman Lindsay Watters was amazed at the cost of books last semester.

“Oh my goodness, I’m going to drop out of college because I cannot afford college textbooks,” Watters said.

Textbook prices are not going down any time soon, but the state legislature has proposed a sales tax exemption on textbooks bought in on-campus college bookstores.

The bill is identical in both houses of the Florida Legislature. It creates an exemption from sales tax for textbooks sold in college bookstores and a mandatory posting of books before classes starts. This bill will not change the actual price of books.

According to a Government Accountability Report, textbook prices have almost tripled over the last 20 years. “I noticed them changing and getting increasingly expensive, but probably not as much as we’ve seen in more recent years,” Florida House Rep. Bill Proctor, also Chancellor of Flagler, said in regards to textbooks’ costs.

Some of the increased costs are associated with inflation while others are the costs for supplements such as Web sites and CD-ROMs. The bill also calls for other research to be done on textbooks.

“If education is tax exempt, why not the materials for education?” said Kayla Rolen, a political science major. To Rolen, this will help make education a bit more accessible.

Sophomore Alex Nordin believes there are other ways to reduce costs for students, like online posting of required books for classes “because it provides students with options.” He said with books posted online, students would be able to compare online prices with the college bookstore prices.

Students complain about textbook prices, but often forget that the campus bookstore is a business, trying to make a profit. Trevor Smith, manager of the college bookstore, said, “We try to keep prices lower because we are competing.”

“With tuition and other living expenses, the less amount we have to spend on books the better off we are,” Junior Shannon Ginn said.

Proctor said he believes the bill has a good chance of passing. Currently, the bill is not on the agenda of the Committee on Postsecondary Education. However, the bill was read in the House on March 6. The original bill has been changed in the Senate, but a new bill identical to the House’s bill was introduced.

Saving $50 to $100 would be a boost to college students in Florida. Junior Joe Budd said not having taxes on textbooks would be great because the money saved adds up over time.

Bob Smith, owner of the college bookstore, agreed saying the goal is to “keep books as cheap as possible to students.”

However the bill was read in the House on March 6. The original bill has been changed in the Senate, but a new bill identical to the House’s bill was introduced.

Saving $50 to $100 would be a boost to college students in Florida. Junior Joe Budd said not having taxes on textbooks would be great because the money saved adds up over time.

Bob Smith, owner of the college bookstore, agreed saying the goal is to “keep books as cheap as possible to students.”