Meal plans at N.C. State are more expensive now due to a new tax that went into effect early January. This tax is the result of a new law, passed by the North Carolina General Assembly this summer that forces North Carolina universities to charge sales taxes on all food, including meal plans.
A sales tax of 6.75 percent is now being added to all meal plans. However, for students paying with cash or credit cards, the rates vary. Some items, such as bread at the C-stores, will only be taxed at 2 percent. Packaged goods, such as chips and Pop-Tarts, are taxed at 6.75 percent. Prepared foods, such as the “Wolfpack-To-Go” wraps, are taxed at 7.75 percent.
According to Jennifer Gilmore, director of marketing communication at N.C. State, the tax rate for food on campus is also determined by your subtotal.
“Let’s say you have a meal plan and you go to the atrium and buy a wrap,” Gilmore said. “If you stay under the $7 equivalency, then you don’t pay any more than 6.75 percent tax because you were already taxed when you bought your meal plan. But if you pay overage, or if you pay with dining dollars, that would be taxed at 7.75 percent. But packaged goods like Pop-Tarts are always 6.75 percent.”
The Commuter Plan will be affected most by the law change. With this plan, students pay $750 to obtain dining dollars, which until this semester were used to buy untaxed food on campus. This semester, the advantage of this plan will be diminished substantially as dining dollars will now be taxed at the same rate as cash payments.
Despite this, Gilmore said that there is currently no planned change to the Commuter Plan.
Even though food prices are increasing, N.C. State meal plans are still relatively inexpensive when compared with peer institutions, Gilmore said.
In the fall 2013 semester, a Freedom Pass plan at N.C. State costs $1,600 a semester. Similar programs at UNC-Chapel Hill cost $2,010.25 per semester and $1,894.50 per semester at East Carolina University.
“It’s unfortunate that students are having to absorb additional costs associated with going to college, but we are very proud of the fact that we already put value as a high priority with our meal plans,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said a high priority is given to both quality and value when developing meal plans and dining prices.
“We want to provide the right levels of quality and value for our students,” Gilmore said. “Every student demographic is different. We know what we need to do to keep our student body satisfied with our program, and we work very hard to balance the quality and value of our food.”
Similar tax increases will also hit other departments at N.C. State, including ARTS N.C. State and Athletics. ARTS events, which include musical performances at N.C. State, University Theater and the Craft Center, were previously untaxed, but are now subject to a 6.75 percent sales tax.
Alex Miller, ARTS N.C. State vice provost, previously told the Technician that several years ago, ARTS N.C. State pledged to provide $5 student tickets, and he has made a commitment to continue that price in the 2014 and 2015 years. ARTS N.C. State will reduce the “actual” student ticket price to $4.66, so the total price, with tax, will remain at $5.
“I made a commitment that we will continue to provide $5 student tickets,” Miller said. “We will still do that, but it creates another internal wrinkle.”
Athletics events, which were previously subject to a 3 percent privilege tax, are also subject to the 6.75 percent sales tax rate. However, the 2013 law included a provision that states that the old tax rate would apply to tickets sold for an event in 2014. Because many season tickets have already been purchased, most of the 2014 athletic events, including baseball and basketball, will retain the 3 percent privilege tax.
