Colleges Blast Endowment Target in Republican Tax Bill - Janet Lorin, Bloomberg

A proposed tax on some wealthy college endowments “has no clear policy objective other than raising revenue,” according to Cornell University, which joined other schools in opposing the provision in the House Republican tax bill rolled out Thursday. Some private college endowments, many of which are at record values, would be taxed 1.4 percent on net investment income, according to the bill. The provision would increase revenue by $3 billion between 2018 to 2027, according to the joint committee on taxation. Martha E. Pollack, Cornell’s president, said in a statement that the proposal “would likely have the perverse effect of making colleges and universities like Cornell more expensive while reducing our ability to provide quality education for economically disadvantaged students, conduct research for the public good, and undertake public engagement services.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-02/colleges-blast-endowment-target-in-republican-tax-reform-bill