Word: taxed
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...This tax, as it applies to student groups, is unfair and counterproductive. For starters, the tax—which is five percent this year and will rise to 15 percent in two years—applies to withdrawals of donations made before the announcement of the tax. Donors who intended for all of their money to go to a student group would have had portions of their money siphoned off by FAS. Although the University does not guarantee that all the money will go to a group when it receives a gift, this practice is disingenuous...
...tax is also unfair because it was sprung on student groups without advance notice. Unlike some subunits of FAS, many student groups can become independent, tax-exempt non-profit organizations, and might have already taken the opportunity to do so if they knew that their donations would be taxed. Before applying a tax, the University should have notified student groups so they could consider how to respond...
...Additionally, the tax disproportionately affects student groups, which already have small budgets. Given that some groups rely on these accounts as their lifeblood—unlike most other FAS subunits—the tax uniquely harms student life...
...debate over the gift tax, however, is about more than a mere $15,000 per year (the total cost of a 15 percent tax at last year’s withdrawal levels). It is also a symbolic fight against the rapidly eroding interest in student life within University Hall...
...Last month, justifiably angry student group leaders and Undergraduate Council members protested outside the Faculty meeting and subsequently met with Knowles. He turned down their request to repeal the tax, citing the fact that the tax was a FAS-wide policy and that it would be improper micromanagement for him to intervene...