Rep: Time to tax Harvard

[flashl]

Nonprofit’s $34B endowment at issue

State Rep. Paul Kujawski is giving Harvard University an “F” on paying its fair share of taxes, saying Massachusetts should revoke nonprofit status on most of the school’s $34 billion endowment.

"When an endowment exceeds our annual ($28 billion) state budget, you start to ask yourself: ‘When is a nonprofit no longer a nonprofit?’" said Kujawski, a Webster Democrat who wants to begin taxing large university endowments.

Kujawski hasn’t filed a formal proposal yet, but told the Herald he wants a sliding-scale tax on endowments larger than $5 billion. That would hit Harvard - which has the nation’s largest endowment - and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has $10 billion on hand.

Kujawski said his proposal could add more than $1 billion to state coffers.

"We look at (raising) cigarette taxes or property taxes, yet we allow these sacred cows to grow and grow," Kujawski said, noting that Harvard and MIT’s endowments both added billions of untaxed dollars last year.

Boston Herald

This effort may not go far, but 'sacred cows' of all dimensions and shapes have better be aware.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Harvard would only recoup their new tax expenditure by raising the tuition.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Exactly

[Librado]

3. Time to help smaller colleges

Who goes to Harvard anyway?

[Scooter24]

4. My parents are both Yale alums

and both give every year to their alma matter even with $22 Billion in the bank. They say it's a matter of pride in their school. I have no problem with forcing schools to spend at least 5% as other non-profits do, but taxing them solely because they have the cash and are successful investors is ridiculous.

Maybe Harvard Management Company would be wise to think about moving its funds and operations out of Massachusetts where it can retain its tax exemption should they pass such a law.