WASHINGTON – President Trump proposed Tuesday that Harvard should lose its tax-free status. A day later, his administration frozen a $2.2 billion multi-year federal grant that Ivy League schools refused to make policy changes they denied.
“Maybe Harvard has lost its tax-free status and is inspired by political, ideological and terrorist-inspired, “If we continue to support/support the disease, should we be taxed as a political entity?” Trump wrote A true society.
“Remember that tax-free status is entirely conditional on public interest actions!”
Trump’s escalation could lay the foundation for Harvard to face serious financial pain. This is because the administration uses the threat of federal government’s actions to force change at other well-known institutions, including Columbia University, which employ a more reconciliatory stance.
Harvard President Alan Gerber on Monday entertained the changes in policy demanded by the Trump administration to address anti-Israel sentiments that have allegedly turned to anti-Semiticism, and refused to rule out the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) program.
“Whether government is in power or not, we should not direct what private universities can teach, who can be recognized and hired, and which areas of learning and research can be pursued,” Gerber said in a rebellious statement.
The administration asked Harvard to reform the rules of student discipline, end all DEI programs, screen international students, and “prevent recognition of students who are hostile to American values,” including “students who support terrorism and anti-Semitism.”
The request also includes changes to make admission decisions based solely on merit and to “stop all preferences based on race, color, origin or its proxy.”
The University of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has the largest donation in the country, earning about $52 billion – from that point to around $2.4 billion in 2024.
The donation is reportedly funds. Approximately 37.5% Of Harvard’s $6.4 billion operating budget. The annual federal funds ($686 million) account for 16% of the operating budget.
If tax exemption status changes, the donation tax rate could skyrocket from 1.4% to the standard 21% corporate tax rate (not considering deductions).
Howard Abrams, a visiting professor of Harvard Law School and Corporate Tax Experts, told the Post that actual theoretical cuts are unknown. Because tuition is considered taxable income and packs another punch into one of the world’s most famous schools.
“Salary and university management costs can be estimated,” Abrams added. “It’s not clear to me how financial aid will be treated.”
