“The Internal Revenue Service is making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, which would be an extraordinary step of retaliation as the Trump administration seeks to turn up pressure on the university that has defied its demands to change its hiring and other practices,” CNNreports.
“A final decision on rescinding the university’s tax exemption is expected soon.”
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President Trump attacked Harvard saying that “Leftist dopes” are teaching at the university “and because of that, Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges.”
He added: “Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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Multiple Colleges Join Harvard in Fight Against Trump Admin
A group of U.S. universities sued the Department of Energy on Monday over cuts to federal research funding, joining Harvard University in fighting President Donald Trump‘s administration.
Newsweek has contacted the DOE and the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The lawsuit came the same day that Harvard said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands, prompting the federal government to announce that it would freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the university.
In a letter to the Harvard community on Monday, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would “not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” The actions reflect growing pushback at universities against what is viewed by the institutions as federal overreach…
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The group of universities—including Brown University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois—and several higher education associations have asked a federal judge in Massachusetts to immediately block the Trump administration from moving forward with a policy change aimed at reducing government spending in support of “indirect” research costs….
Note….
Can Trump revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status? What to know about the law….
But the authority to investigate and change tax-exempt statuses rests with the Internal Revenue Service, and the president is legally barred from directly or indirectly requesting that the agency exercise that power against taxpayers.
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Only the IRS, which is part of the U.S. Treasury Department, can investigate and revoke a tax exemption. Federal law explicitly prohibitssenior officials of the executive branch, including the president, vice president and members of their offices, from requesting the IRS conduct or cease an audit or other investigation of a taxpayer.
Those found in violation of the law can face a maximum $5,000 fine and five years of prison time.
There are limited circumstances in which institutions can lose their tax-exempt status. For example, 501(c)(3) organizations are not allowed to participate in political campaigns for public office.
Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, called Trump’s comment on Harvard’s tax exemption “another example of this administration just trying to throw punishments at universities and see what sticks.”
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