Bill proposes tax exemption for textbooks

The Indiana General Assembly is again considering a sales tax exemption for college textbooks. The bill is a response to a campaign led by the IU Student Association.\nState Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, and Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington, have filed bills that would abolish the tax. Its proponents say the exemption would save students $20-50 per semester.\nIt has some bipartisan support -- the bill Klinker drafted is co-sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn.\nSuch legislation failed during the last session, when the surplus was spent mostly on tax cuts and expansion of the prison system. Tax revenue had to be kept steady so the state would continue to run a surplus, said Thad Nation, a spokesman for Governor Frank O'Bannon.\nBut IUSA has revived the issue with a statewide petition drive. \nCollecting more than 12,000 signatures from students at 18 colleges and universities, IUSA presented its petition Jan. 17 at the Statehouse. It plans to rally Wednesday in Indianapolis. Student governments from other Indiana colleges have jumped on the bandwagon.\n"This state should do everything it can to support higher education," said Corey Murphy, president of Student Government Association at the University of Evansville. "Helping students' pocketbooks would be an excellent start."\nTuesday, Murphy sent about 300 signed letters supporting the exemption to State Rep. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend. Bauer is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which shapes tax laws.\nIUSA is enlisting the help of other student government groups because it knows it faces an uphill battle, said junior Ben Piper, legislative relations director. \nWith a slowing economy and shrinking projected state revenues, the legislature plans to cut back on spending. And the governor made a plea for fiscal responsibility during his State of the State address last week.\n"Realistically, I think it still stands a good chance," Piper said. "We'll just have to push harder, to put the fire under their feet."\nKruzan, who said that a similar bill never received a hearing last year, said he'll use his influence as majority leader.\n"It'll be an uphill battle," he said. "But the case can be made that with education, we shouldn't tax the tools of trade."\nO'Bannon's budget flatlines higher education spending during the next two years. While it is being retooled by the House Ways and Means Committee, Kruzan said it sets the tone on spending. \nAnd textbook tax exemptions, Kruzan said, will have to compete with other higher education spending measures. \n"We don't look at this as additional spending," Piper said of the tax exemption, which would reduce revenues by an estimated $3 million. "We look at this as fixing something that's wrong. We don't believe that this tax should fall on the back on students"