Posted on 02/15/2024 3:46:33 AM PST by karpov
Although the Ivies and other elite colleges and universities in the U.S. are financial titans, they are registered with the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organizations. As a result, their vast property holdings are exempt from taxation in all 50 states. The rationale for this status is that higher education is an inherent public good. At least that has been the assumption under which this country has long operated.
But this argument has increasingly been called into question by events over the last few years, culminating in the headline-making responses by university presidents to a recent congressional panel. It’s clear by now that what transpires on many campuses is more indoctrination than education. As Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan put it last month (quoting CNN’s Fareed Zakaria), colleges “have gone from being centers of excellence to institutions pushing political agendas.” Since that is the case, such institutions don’t deserve their special treatment. They have not held up their end of the bargain.
This state of affairs may explain in part what New York State lawmakers hope to accomplish where higher-ed tax policy is concerned. A bill introduced last month by Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani would eliminate enormous property-tax breaks for Columbia University and N.Y.U., both of which have expanded to become among New York City’s top-10 largest property owners. Yet, whatever their motives, lawmakers are sending a not-so-subtle message that these institutions can’t have it both ways. They can’t continue to avoid most taxes while failing so spectacularly to serve the public interest.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
Needed , uniform code of enforcement .
Tax exempt status has requirements, one
of which is apolitical ness.
Exemption to this requirement, by overlook, has been occurring for too long for the interpreted ? chosen ?
I want all tax exempt status eliminated—for every entity of every type.
It is too difficult to figure out which ones are leftist agitators—just tax all of them.
Colleges are nonprofit organizations. I have the same grumpy reaction as many others here about how the colleges have gone off the rails, but subjecting colleges to property taxes would lead very quickly to the same for private elementary and secondary schools, churches, museums, etc. The state will smash any and all civic institutions that provide at least the chance of maintaining an alternative public culture that extends beyond private homes.
The left likes to camouflage its hostility to the non-state sector by pointing to the most expensive private elementary and secondary schools as bastions of privilege. And some of them are very nice, with beautiful campuses and quirky old school traditions. But such schools are few in number.
The vast majority of private schools operate on a shoestring, generally at a substantially lower per-student cost than the local public schools. And they produce systematically better results. This makes them the object of fierce resentment. The left would love to suppress them. Open the door to property taxation, and the left will eliminate them very quickly.
I live in Washington DC. Per student funding for DC Public Schools now exceeds $30,000 per year. This is more than triple the tuition at most of the Catholic elementary and middle schools and double the cost of the typical Catholic high school. A very few private prep schools are higher, but not by much.
You are only taxing profits.
Private schools will be fine.
I think this is stupid. Colleges provide a huge financial resource to the community. Think of all the businesses and housing that exists because of colleges. I do agree that colleges that act as colleges and not businesses should pay property taxes. If they sell themselves or they are acting as businesses they should pay taxes like a business.
The issue—to use a term leftists love these days—is “election interference”.
The majority of non profits are just fronts for leftist agitation and propaganda.
This is de facto taxation without representation (subsidy) of those of us who are not rabid leftists—since the public has to make up the difference.
A better idea would be to get rid of property taxes for everybody else.
This is about property taxes, not income taxes.
Got it—good point.
At a minimum I would want a non-profit to prove they are not leftist agitators—otherwise no property tax exemption as well.
In this case—guilty until proven innocent.
Colleges and Universities are sitting, collectively, on about a TRILLION dollars in ENDOWMENTS. It is an absolute scandal that no one investigates why tax dollars continue to go to some institutions and tuitions bankrupt students.
The endowments should be seized and distributed to poor white kids—reparations for decades of anti-white racism.
One concession I would make is that these non-profit institutions should be exempt from paying school taxes. But that’s also because I don’t think property taxes should be used to fund schools anyway.
Its colleges in cities that buy up buildings removing them forever from the property tax rolls that's ridiculous.
How’s about we start taxing their ENDOWMENTS...
That’s over $800 billion, folks.
How did I not know they were 501(c)3?! Someone with authority needs to go after them for their years of political activism! That’s what they say about others like them…
Bur notice leftists never talk about wealth taxes.
Now why do suppose they never want to tax wealth...? 🤔
Same should be for churches who engage in politics as well as aid and abet illegals.
I have not read the article, but not all property owned by charitable is exempt for tax purposes.
Largest case in point, at one point Trinity Church Wall Street owned 25% of lower Manhattan. If you were in certain office buildings, you would see the Trinity logo with a notation managed by Trinity Real Estate. They paid property taxes on all of the commercial properties.
They were also good landlords and kept their building in top shape.
Maine Medical Center in Portland Maine is one of the cities largest property tax payers because about half the property they owned is used as doctors offices rented out to various medical specialty practices of doctors. They actively look to buy and sell properties that may or may not meet need their needs. (Note, MMC maintains these properties under a separate ownership, MMC Realty)
I would assume that NYU and other colleges have similar properties.
Anytime someone purposes new taxes my antenna go up. The thieves and liars in Government are getting too much loot as it is.
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