N.Y. Legislation Seeks End to 2 Institutions’ Tax Exemptions

New York lawmakers are slated to introduce a bill that would impose property taxes on Columbia University and New York University, both of which are among the city’s largest private property owners, The New York Times reported. That tax revenue would subsequently be allocated to the City University of New York system.

Currently, the two institutions, like many other nonprofit universities in New York and across the country, are exempt from paying property taxes. If they were required to pay them, the universities would have owed $327 million this year. Overriding the exemptions, which are part of New York’s Constitution, would require a statewide ballot referendum.