Columbia's $15 Billion Endowment Risks Big Hit on GOP Tax Tweak
House Republicans have proposed a change to how university levies are calculated that expands the list of schools that have to pay.
A commencement ceremony at Columbia University in New York in 2023.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergColumbia University’s large population of international students has helped the school avoid paying a tax on its roughly $15 billion endowment. Now, that’s poised to change as President Donald Trump and other Republicans ratchet up their attacks on elite colleges.
The 1.4% excise tax on endowments, passed in 2017 during the first Trump administration, affects private universities with endowments of $500,000 per full-time student. Columbia, with roughly 36,000 students has stayed below the threshold, thanks in large part to its estimated 14,000 international pupils.