It has famously been said that "[t]he art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing." This quote is not only colorful, but also accurately describes how our tax laws are crafted. Time and again, we see governments at all levels choose to impose taxes on those with the least ability to make their voices heard in the political process or in ways that are far from transparent. But no matter how easy it makes the lives of politicians, political expediency should not be taken into account when deciding how best to raise the revenue that our government needs to operate. Unfortunately, it seems that political expediency has been driving tax policy far too much in the city of Pittsburgh of late, with the proposal for a tuition tax on college students being the most recent example.

Thankfully, the state authority that oversees the city government's finances this week rejected the tax, saying it is not authorized by state law, but the mayor may press ahead anyway.

A core goal of any tax policy should be the enactment of taxes that are fair. A tax that is perceived to be unfair is one that quickly loses the support and compliance of those subject to it. And without a functioning tax system, we cannot have a functioning government.

In determining the fairness of a tax, we normally strive for two goals. First, to ensure that similarly situated taxpayers are treated similarly. Second, to take into account the differences between taxpayers.

Though we all may be created equal, we do not all have the same financial means to contribute toward the support of government. Some of us are better positioned than others to reap financial benefits from the well-ordered society that our government makes possible. Those who reap more benefits should contribute more to government than those who have been less fortunate.

The proposed tuition tax does exactly the opposite. It asks those who have little ability to pay to cover the city's budget shortfall. This may minimize the hissing of those with wealth and political influence, but it does nothing to further the goal of achieving a fair tax system.

A tuition tax would mortgage the future of young people in this city. Most students do not have the funds to pay for this tax out of their pockets. Instead, they probably would take out additional student loans. These loans would accrue interest, which would further increase the weight of this tax on students. Thus, today's students likely would find themselves burdened for years by the tuition tax.

To me, this sounds like a powerfully bad idea. Hard times can make for hard choices. Instead of taking the easy road of political expediency, our elected officials should take a step back and consider whether there is a fairer way to distribute the tax burden -- one that better takes into account the ability of each individual to contribute toward the support of government.

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