Vote looms for first-of-its-kind tuition tax in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh mayor to push for tuition tax vote

PITTSBURGH — The mayor of Pittsburgh will push for a first-of-its-kind tax on student tuition this week after a special meeting with the city’s universities failed to resolve the dispute over the levy.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl met Monday with college officials to discuss other ways to remedy the city’s pension woes. But the meeting made little progress.

Ravenstahl had set a Monday deadline for universities and other tax-exempt nonprofits to agree to pay $5 million annually to the city.

Without an agreement, Ravenstahl will ask City Council to vote on the 1 percent tuition tax, which would be the first of its kind in the nation. The schools say they are willing to negotiate if the tax is taken off the table.

A vote could come Wednesday.