Tulane is adding 5 percent tax on accounts receivable charges and meal plans

If you’ve checked your email within the last hour and a half, you probably received an email with the subject “Important Tulane Meal Plan Announcement”.

In this email you will learn as of April 1st Tulane plans to begin taxing all Accounts Receivable purchases – including meal plans – by 5%. After three months the tax will be reduced to 3%.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how big of a difference this will actually make. Five and three both seem like relatively small numbers, but with the amount of money that’s being charged to our Accounts Receivable each semester, this will add up.

The LBC’s Barnes &Noble, where students can charge purchases to Accounts Receivable in lieu of paying in cash or with a credit card

Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the increases in payments Tulane students and their parents will be facing in the wake of the tax institution:

• Each time you plan on adding $100 in Wavebuck$ to your Splash Card you will be charged $105 until July 1st and then $103 for the foreseeable future.
• If you spend $1,000 at the bookstore on text books and charge it to AR you will be charged $1,005 until July 1st and then $1,003 for the foreseeable future.
• The Flex 275 and Flex 350 meal plans, as of the fall semester, will go from $2,810 to $2,894.30 per semester.
• Upperclassmen meal plan prices will increase as well, for example, the Flex 1 plan will become $2,008.50.

Students and their parents should plan to see an increase in Accounts Receivable charges starting on the first day of April. The email ends with the reminder that this tax is still less than the 10.5% sales tax that is added to charges in the Orleans Parish area. This is something to keep in mind, but likely not the way to prevent any uproar from students and their parents who are already paying a pretty hefty tuition bill.

The Roulez food truck, included in the student meal plan.

I’m assuming we’re all curious to see how students, their parents, and administration react to this, and I’m sure we’ll get our fill after the students and faculty come back from Spring Break.