Connecticut Democrats Try Private Endowment Tax Again

Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut are taking another crack at passing a bill that would allow municipalities to tax endowments of the state’s 17 private colleges and universities. Ironically, their efforts could be aided by congressional Republicans, who are looking to raise the federal endowment tax at the same time.

The proposed bill calls for amending Connecticut’s general statutes to grant municipalities the authority to impose taxes on the endowment funds of private institutions of higher education located within their boundaries. The potential tax would come on top of the 1.4% federal endowment excise tax, which applies to endowments of universities with at least 500 students and assets of more than $500,000 per student.

Nine democrats sponsored the bill: State Representatives Brandon Chafee, Kai Belton, Toni Walker, Anthony Nolan, Josh Elliott, Laurie Sweet, Sarah Keitt and Nick Gauthier, and Senator Jan Hochadel.

It is the second time Connecticut lawmakers have tried to pass a bill to allow the state’s cities to levy taxes against local private universities and colleges. The previous attempt, proposed in 2023 by Chafee and State Representatives Anne Hughes and David Michel, died in committee.

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When that bill was introduced, Yale University, which has the largest endowment in the state and the second largest in the country, argued during a public hearing that it already provides a major revenue stream for the state. It cited an annual voluntary payment of $23 million to the city of New Haven and its status as the largest employer in the city, spending $3.2 billion on salaries and benefits and contributing an estimated $7 billion annually to the state economy.

This time around, the bill may have a better chance of passing by riding the coattails of federal bills proposed by congressional Republicans that each call for a major hike in the federal endowment excise tax. In the first two months of 2025, Republicans have proposed both the Endowment Tax Fairness Act and the Higher Education Accountability Tax Act, which would raise the 1.4% excise tax on private university endowments to 21% and 10%, respectively. If one of those bills is enacted, Connecticut’s tax could follow suit as a rare issue on which Democrats and Republicans can find consensus.

The Endowment Tax Fairness Act, introduced by Representative Troy Nehls, R-Texas, aims to bring the endowment excise tax in line with the 21% corporate tax rate. It would apply to private colleges and universities with at least 500 students and aggregate assets of at least $500,000 per student. Under the proposal, revenue from the tax would be used to reduce the national deficit.

In addition to raising the endowment tax to 10%, the Higher Education Accountability Tax Act, introduced by Representative Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, and Representative Nicole Malliotakis, R-New York, would increase the number of universities required to pay the tax by cutting in half the asset per student threshold. Higher education institutions with at least $250,000 per student would be subject to the tax, rather than the current cutoff of $500,000 per student.

The Connecticut bill has been referred to the Connecticut General Assembly’s Planning and Development Committee, which includes members from both the Connecticut House of Representatives and the Connecticut Senate. In odd-numbered years such as 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly’s session runs from January until June.