State lawmakers have proposed a bill that would allow municipalities that contain private colleges to impose a tax on their endowment funds.
Colleges and universities have long enjoyed exemptions from property taxes given to nonprofit groups in Connecticut.
The bill, HB 5617, has been referred to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Planning and Development, which met Monday morning.
It was introduced by Democratic Reps. Brandon Chafee, Kai Belton, Toni E. Walker, Anthony Nolan, Josh Elliott, Laurie Sweet and Sarah Keitt, along with Sen. Jan Hochade.
The state has attempted to tax colleges and universities in the past, but the efforts have not been successful, partly due to strong opposition from schools such as Yale University in New Haven.
As of June 2024, Yale’s endowment stood at $41.4 billion, according to the school.
Connecticut’s system of public higher-education universities was excluded from the bill.
Other variations of the proposal to allow municipalities to levy taxes on private colleges’ endowment funds have been proposed in prior years.
During the last legislative session, lawmakers proposed a bill that would remove property tax exemptions for real property acquired by private institutions of higher education starting on Oct. 1, 2024. A public hearing was held, but the bill did not proceed.
