Politics & Government
Should Princeton University Pay Property Taxes?
"If PU were to pay real estate taxes, the public would need to have full disclosure of where the funds would go," Princeton resident Fausta Rodriguez Wertz writes.
Fausta Rodrguez Wertz, a candidate for Princeton Council, weighs on an Aug. 19 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by James Pierson and Naomi Schaefer Riley titled "Why Shouldn't Princeton Pay Taxes?"
The piece references a lawsuit filed against the University claiming it only pays $10 into municipal coffers compared to what the lawyer for the plaintiffs claims is the roughly $10 million the university now contributes voluntary to the town.
But Rodriguez is puzzled by the $10 million figure, saying Princeton's municipal budget shows only $2,475,000 as the University's "fair share."
"If PU were to pay real estate taxes, the public would need to have full disclosure of where the funds would go," Rodriguez Wertz writes "Otherwise, it would mean more spending on more extravagant facilities or, in a worst-case scenario, more debt issued while using the new property tax revenues as reserves. Either way it would mean no relief to Princeton residents."
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