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Bill Would Nix Sales Tax On Textbooks

By: Matt Bush // January 25, 2012
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Maryland legislators say they're trying to ease the financial burden on students.
Christopher Rodriguez: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32607104@N08/6671382737/
Maryland legislators say they're trying to ease the financial burden on students.

Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow college students to buy class textbooks without paying state sales tax. The bill's supporters say it will not only give students a break, but help campus bookstores that are losing sales to online retailers. 

Lindsay Dodd is a senior at Washington College on the Eastern Shore. She told a House committee textbooks end up costing her about $500 per year, on top of the more than $46,000 she already spends on tuition.

"Most of the time I buy my books on Amazon," says Dodd. "So Maryland doesn't get any revenue out of that when I buy my books on Amazon.  Because they're cheaper and I'm just looking to save money."

The director of the campus bookstore at St. Mary's College in Southern Maryland says he's lost 40 percent of his business since 2006 to online retailers.

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