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Donald Trump said that he would eliminate tax exemption from Harvard University, threatening to bring a significant blow to university finances and signaling another escalation in his attack on the American elite institutions.
“We are going to remove the Harvard tax exemption status. That's what they deserve! ” The American president declared in an article on Truth Social Friday morning.
The president’s comments deepen a dead end between Harvard and the White House, who also said that she would exceed more than $ 2.2 billion in university federal funding. Harvard replied last month by continuing the Trump administration.
Harvard said that there was “no legal basis to cancel” university tax exemption, adding that the exemption “means that more than each dollar can go to students for students, rescue and medical research improving life and technological progress that stimulates economic growth”.
The university added in its declaration that “unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission”.
Trump intensified his attacks on universities And other American institutions that his supporters consider too progressive. Earlier Friday, Trump said that he would also end federal funding for PBS and NPR public broadcasters.
The administration accuses the institutions of bias against Asset And his program, while the president's criticisms assaulted his repression as an extended attack on freedom of expression.
Trump had already previously threatened To strip Harvard of his tax exemption status.
The abolition of tax exemption status for Harvard could mean that the university is no longer treated as a charity for tax purposes, forcing it to pay federal taxes on its income, among other impacts. Some donors could also lose the tax advantage of giving money to university.
The White House immediately provided any detail on Trump's comments or how and when it would move to end the Harvard tax exemption.
The American Senators Democrats Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, a former professor at the University, co-signed a letter calling for the inspector general of the acting Treasury for the tax administration to investigate the “Alarmant” reports according to which the internal returned service could revoke Harvard's non-profit status.
“It is … inadmissible that the IRS would become a weapon from the Trump administration to extort its perceived enemies”, ” They wrote.
The president accused last week of American universities, including Harvard, of violating federal laws on great foreign gifts.
In addition to the deprivation of certain universities in their tax exemption status, the government also plans to revise the accreditation system which makes universities eligible for federal funding, including student loans.
Additional report by Alex Rogers in Washington
