A taxing problem

On Aug. 7, the N.C. General Assembly mandated a $200 tuition hike for the 2010-11 school year for all UNC-system students.

But no student will see the benefit of the hike on campus because the money is going right back to the state.

The principle of raising money from students, many of whom already struggle to fund their education, is deplorable. 

The funds generated from this tax could easily surpass $3 million from undergraduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill. 

That money belongs to our school, not the General Assembly.

The new tuition increase is the equivalent of a regressive tax on public higher education in North Carolina. 

However, because the tax is masked as a tuition hike, the General Assembly did not levy the tax on private schools. 

These schools also benefit from the state and its residents. 

Therefore, a tax on tuition should not discriminate. The state should have devised a system where private universities or colleges help bear the burden of the deficit.

But what ultimately hurts students the most is that this tax replaces the regular tuition process which prioritizes our university’s needs.

No one said fixing the budget crisis would be easy. UNC students have seen firsthand how budget cuts currently affect and will continue to change the quality of their education. 

A tuition increase during economic difficulty is — to an extent — justified. 

But forcing students to pay up in this manner is wrong. It is never right to take and offer nothing in return — especially when many students will be paying for such a “tax” with student loans.

The General Assembly should take its hand out of the cookie jar and leave students and their families alone.