Harvard isn’t giving back.
Because Harvard University is considered a nonprofit, it is not required to pay property taxes on the majority of the about 10% land it owns in Cambridge. Harvard has the greatest endowment of any university in the world at around $50 billion much of which was accumulated through the labor of indigenous and Black people. We believe this wealth accumulation should not be taxpayer-subsidized. The Harvard Corporation pretends to pay its fair share through PILOT (Payment in lieu of Taxes), but they only pay $4.3 million out of the estimated $180 million [1] they owe.
Now, due to lack of revenue, our elected officials are talking about cutting essential social services such as universal after-school care, municipal broadband, and affordable housing. Harvard is directly responsible for these cuts.
Harvard’s PILOT agreement is up for renegotiation for the first time since 2000. We’re demanding a voice in the process because Harvard needs to pay its fair share.
[1] Harvard should contribute at least 180 million a year to fund our community. This number was calculated based on the ratio of their assessed land value that they own in Boston, to how much they pay the city of Boston times four.
An increased contribution from Harvard could go to pay for urgent community needs, such as universal afterschool programs, broadband service, and living wages for paraprofessionals in our schools.
We’re calling on Harvard to divest from defense technologies that profit off of violence and invest in our community.
Watch out for emails from us on action steps we can take together to get what we deserve!
Endorsed by: