President Trump doesn’t have the legal authority to nix Harvard University’s tax-exempt status on his own. But will that stop him? \u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump, who has shown a willingness to test the boundaries of the law as he seeks to hurt colleges financially, is at war with Harvard<\/a>, locked in a lawsuit while he goes after its research funding, international students and, perhaps most dangerously for the school, its tax exemption<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The IRS is meant to be a politically independent agency, and the university says the administration has “no legal basis” for its actions.<\/p>\n Experts say taking away Harvard\u2019s tax-exempt status is nearly impossible and that Trump\u2019s comments have already waded into illegal territory.<\/p>\n \u201cMy concern is less substantive, because the administration isn’t going to win this, even if the IRS follows their direction, unless there is some secret knowledge they have about Harvard. And there’s not,” said Samuel Brunson, the associate dean for academic affairs at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHarvard is ultimately going to keep its tax exemption, but to the extent that Donald Trump wants to make the IRS a tool for him to go after his real and perceived enemies, that is bad for the IRS. That’s bad for democracy,\u201d Brunson added.<\/p>\n Trump has been pushing the revocation of Harvard’s tax-exempt status for more than a month as the fight between the Ivy League school and his administration ramps up. In April, his Treasury Department reportedly asked the IRS<\/a> to make the change.<\/p>\n On Friday, he doubled down.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to be taking away Harvard\u2019s Tax Exempt Status. It\u2019s what they deserve!\u201d he wrote on Truth Social.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump had demanded the nation’s oldest school change its policies around admissions and hiring, along with eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. When it refused, he canceled more than $2 billion in federal funding.<\/p>\n In response, Harvard sued the administration and is denouncing Trump’s tax call.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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. There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard\u2019s tax-exempt status,\u201d a university spokesperson said. \u00a0<\/p>\n