Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Michigan

Re: College Tution: Tax on out of state students?

You make an intriguing argument, but I'm afraid it isn't correct. The word "articles" in this section refers to goods, and the section is designed to prevent states from imposing duties for goods crossing their borders.

When the Constitution was written the states functioned much more independently than they do now. They printed their own money, made their own foreign policy, and basically treated each other in many ways more like foreign nations than like part of the same country. Much of the Constitution was written specifically to do away with these practices.

Out-of-state tuition is not a charge imposed on goods, so it doesn't violate this section. Because it is a charge for services rendered within the state, it does not apply to anything "exported" at all. I think you miss the mark when you view it as a tax on people crossing the border, since people who are not attending the state's public colleges can cross the border freely without paying these fees. It is not a tax but rather a fee for services rendered.

Is it fair to charge more for out-os-state residents? I think so. Public universities receive much of their funding from state taxes, so state residents are already supporting the schools before they enroll. Out-of-state students have not made such contributions and have no claim to the same type of subsidy which state residents enjoy.

As far as I know, the public colleges and universities of all fifty states work this way, so every qualified student has an opportunity to get a subsidized education in his or her own state. Those who prefer the education offered by another state's colleges should pay their share of the costs of running those colleges, and their fair share is higher because their taxes are not being used.