The IRS is considering whether to rescind Harvard University‘s tax-exempt status, two sources familiar with the situation said.
The request to look into the possibility was made by officials at the Treasury Department this week. Acting chief counsel Andrew De Mello, who has been supportive of DOGE and was appointed to his role in March, received the request, one source said.
A final decision has not yet been made, sources said. CNN first reported the IRS’ consideration.
“Tax-exempt status, I mean, that’s a privilege,” Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday, “and it’s been abused by a lot more than Harvard.”
“I don’t think they’ve made a final ruling,” Mr. Trump said of Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
The country’s oldest university, as a 501(c)(3) organization, like other educational institutions, is exempt from paying taxes.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said that any “forthcoming actions by the IRS will be conducted independently of the president.”
“Investigations into any institution’s violations of its tax status were initiated prior to the President’s TRUTH,” he added, referencing Mr. Trump’s post on Tuesday that suggested Harvard “should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity.”
“Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
CBS News has reached out to the Treasury Department and IRS for comment.
A Harvard spokesperson said “there is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status.”
“The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission,” the Harvard spokesperson said. “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.”
Bloomberg News estimated that Harvard saves nearly $500 million a year by being tax exempt.
This is the latest in the spat between Harvard and Mr. Trump. On March 31, the administration said it was reviewing about $9 billion in grants and contracts with Harvard “to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities.” The federal government sent a letter on April 11 to the university that outlined a series of conditions Harvard needed to meet to maintain a “financial relationship” with the federal government. Harvard rejected those conditions, resulting in the Trump administration announcing on Tuesday that it would be canceling “$2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60M in multi-year contract value to Harvard University.”
The IRS has seen numerous changes in the early months of Mr. Trump’s term. The agency is expected to see steep cuts to its workforce in the coming months, according to a memo of their Reduction in Force plan shared with CBS News.
Melanie Krause, the former acting commissioner, resigned this month after the IRS reached an agreement with immigration officials to share tax data of immigrants.
Mr. Trump replaced Krause with Gary Shapley, who had been a whistleblower regarding alleged political influence in the Hunter Biden tax investigation.
Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter covering the 2024 elections. He was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.
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