Take a look at the boards of the name universities. They are filled with CEOs and people with a tremendous amount of money, and the ultimate focus of most university administrations is to make more and more money for the university. Harvard has an endowment of ~$39.2 billion. That's money over and above their annual revenues and independent of their operating costs. And, Harvard is tax exempt - federal and state tax. It's way, way, way past time that these places pay 'their fair share'.
Not any more.
Picture a mad scramble at wealthy private colleges and universities in the days after the Republican tax reform plan passed Congress, as officials scurried to find ways to dodge or minimize the new excise tax on their endowments.With the legislation kicking in for taxable years starting after Dec. 31, there would have been little time to lose. The tax reform package places an annual 1.4 percent excise tax on net investment income at an estimated several dozen colleges and universities. Specifically, the tax will apply to institutions with at least 500 students and net assets of $500,000 per student. That includes some of the nation's wealthiest colleges, such as Harvard, Stanford and Princeton Universities, but also some that fall under the tax in large part because they have relatively small student bodies, such as Claremont McKenna College. source
Admittedly, 1.4% is a pittance, but the camel's nose is in the tent. Write your reps and tell them to up the rate.