Beginning January 1, sales tax will be applied to meal tickets and event tickets at UNC Chapel Hill. The General Assembly ended the exemption that had been carved out. But the student association doesn’t think students should have to pay the tax. 

“To give you an example with real numbers, (consider) the Value 14 — currently that plan is $1,725, so it’s going to go up to $1,854. It’s about a $129 increase,” said Mike Freeman, director of auxiliary services. “But it’s not money we get. It’s going straight to the Department of Revenue.”

The revenue from the increase amounts to $625,000 a semester from meal plans alone.

Freeman said the increase is a subject for concern, but Carolina Dining Services did not have room in its budget to absorb the increase.

“Whenever we buy something local like grass-fed beef, it costs a lot more than regular beef,” Freeman said. “So we could do no more sustainable, no more local, but I don’t believe in that and I don’t think students believe in that.”

The UNC Association of Student Governments has already passed a resolution calling for the reinstatement of meal plans’ tax-exempt status.

Evidently only OTHER people are supposed to pay taxes.