Photo: Jay Willett/WBZ NewsRadio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — President Donald Trump is calling for Harvard University to lose its tax-exempt status, the latest move in the president’s ongoing fight against the university.
“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday morning.
Harvard sued the Trump Administration last week over its freeze on $2.2 billion of the university’s research funding.
This comes after Harvard rejected a list of demands from the Trump Administration, which included getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in hiring and admissions, reforming programs with "egregious records of antisemitism,” and banning international students who are “hostile to the American values and institutions.”
Read More: Harvard Pres. Says School Rejects Trump Administration Demands
The president previously suggested the university should lose its tax-exempt status earlier this month.
In response to Trump’s latest threat, the university’s spokesperson said there is “no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status.”
Tax-exempt status is often given to charities, religious institutions and universities by the Internal Revenue Service Tax. The designation means the groups do not have to pay federal income taxes.
“The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission. The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research, and technological advancements that drive economic growth,” said a Harvard spokesperson.
The spokesperson continued, “Such an unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission. It would result in diminished financial aid for students, abandonment of critical medical research programs, and lost opportunities for innovation. The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.”
WBZ's Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.