MAYOR CICILLINE is leaving no stone unturned in search of new revenue streams for Providence. Normally, I’d applaud creative fiscal thinking in a time of recession. But not when the mayor has set his sights on singling out a particular group for extra taxation: college students.

We’re obvious, easy targets. After all, many of the thousands of us in Providence’s colleges and universities are not Rhode Island residents.

We maintain our home-state residency at our parents’ addresses. It’s politically astute: targeting a group unlikely to band together to vote the mayor out of office. Taxation without representation. I suspect any other proposal to single out people of a particular occupation for taxation would have been politically dead on arrival.

How about a $300-a-year levy on members of the bar, assessed through their law firms, or on registered nurses, assessed through doctors’ offices and hospitals?

Contrary to common perception, students do in fact contribute significantly to the tax revenue of the city and state. I’m a graduate student. I rent a house on the East Side. First and foremost, I pay state and local taxes via the rent to my landlord and in the assorted taxes and fees on my utility bills. Those students who own houses and condos pay this directly. I frequent Rhode Island businesses and pay sales taxes on my groceries, gasoline and restaurant bills. On my stipend as a research fellow, I pay nonresident state income taxes.

This past April 15, the lion’s share of my tax payments went to Rhode Island, not to my home state — Illinois.

Here at Brown, it’s recognized that students are feeling the economic crunch. Even though the tuition increase of 2.9 percent this year was on the low side compared with our peers, Brown expects a big increase in the number of students seeking financial aid. A $300-a-year levy on students would have a chilling effect on those seeking to do what is traditional in a time of downturn: return to school, gain new skills.

Not in Providence, many will decide. No other major city in the country targets its students for special taxation. I’m already here and on a budget without a lot of wiggle room. A $300-a-year student tax would mean that much less spent in support of local businesses — at the restaurants on the East Side, the shops on Westminster Street and the grocery stores on Federal Hill. Would that really be better for Providence? (It might be better for Seekonk, as students seek out bargain-basement prices at the Wal-Mart.)

Through my rent and taxes, I pay for municipal services, and I pay for them through my tuition, too. For example, Brown and the other institutions pay for their own officers to police the campuses.

Collectively, the private colleges and universities in the city contribute far more to Providence than they extract. In fact, they are some of the bulwarks of the local economy. The jobs these institutes provide, from professor to custodian to information-technology manager to accountant, are excellent ones, come with benefits, and are not in danger of being outsourced at the drop of a hat should the Rhode Island economic situation continue to sour. And, though they are exempt from property taxes, under a 2003 agreement, these institutions voluntarily pay the city and state tens of millions of dollars.

Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales and Providence College contribute enormously to the vibrant cultural, artistic and intellectual life of the city. Brown Medical School’s doctors make Providence health care top-notch. We students volunteer in local schools and with local civic groups to educate children of Providence, provide services to the underserved and strengthen the community of which we are an integral part. It’s a community I’m proud to be a member of.

Let’s get creative, Mayor Cicilline. I know we’re an easy target for a $300-a-year tax, but does it really seem right to tax our future chefs, artists, teachers, scientists, engineers, doctors and diplomats as they forgo higher wages to train for careers for the greater good?

Consider more carefully the spending of the City of Providence—is it really efficient? If you want more money from the universities, seek to reopen negotiations on the voluntary 2003 agreement — but bear in mind that university revenue streams are suffering, too. Students want to be good citizens and stewards. We are morally obliged to pay taxes for these reasons but that is simply not the issue here. We already pay the appropriate taxes and we already give substantially to make Providence the city it is — a great place to live while seeking an education.

Bethany Ehlmann is a Ph.D. candidate in geological sciences at Brown University.

Editor’s note: State sales and income taxes paid by people in Providence go directly to the state, not the city.