Live data from Hacker News

Trump says Harvard will lose tax exempt status

bloomberg.com

1–10 of 23 posts

Re: Trump says Harvard will lose tax exempt status

#5

What prevents them from instead justifying tax-exempt status as a faith-based nonprofit for their FSM-related charitable work, say?

I think that assumes that there's some fair evaluating of tax status going on.

Harvard defied Trump and that's why they're making this push. I don't think any given argument to the feds will change that math.

If you work for the feds, I think you know that if you were to follow a process and find that Harvard should retain their tax exempt status then you won't have a job long.

Re: Trump says Harvard will lose tax exempt status

#6
I question whether Trump has the legitimate legal authority to decide the taxable status of specific institutions. If he wants to change the rules about what qualifies for tax-exempt status, that takes an act of Congress (which he can probably get, eventually).

What he can do is tell the IRS to go through the existing rules and find a reason why Harvard doesn't qualify for tax-exempt status. The problems will be that, first, whatever the reason given will be, it will head for a court case, and second, it will be almost impossible to interpret the rules so that the new interpretation hits Harvard only (and not, say, the other Ivy League schools).

Re: Trump says Harvard will lose tax exempt status

#9

I question whether Trump has the legitimate legal authority to decide the taxable status of specific institutions. If he wants to change the rules about what qualifies for tax-exempt status, that takes an act of Congress (which he can probably get, eventually). What he can do is tell the IRS to go through the existing rules and find a reason why Harvard doesn't qualify for tax-exempt status. The problems will be that…

This is just one of those things he says to appeal to his base. Nothing will come out of it.

Re: Trump says Harvard will lose tax exempt status

#10
post #9

I question whether Trump has the legitimate legal authority to decide the taxable status of specific institutions. If he wants to change the rules about what qualifies for tax-exempt status, that takes an act of Congress (which he can probably get, eventually). What he can do is tell the IRS to go through the existing rules and find a reason why Harvard doesn't qualify for tax-exempt status. The problems will be that…

This is just one of those things he says to appeal to his base. Nothing will come out of it.

I think actual firings, funding cuts, contract cuts, programs ending have already occurred regardless of how legal the acts that caused them to occur they are.
Post reply on HN