Word: exempt
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Says he:"The idea that a particular group of people should be exempt from taxation is anomalous. In England, it would arouse antagonism. Here the idea seems to be that if you can get away with something, then good luck...
...base shrunk year by year, demands on city services and the costs of those services rose steadily. Moreover, 48 per cent of Boston's land, including colleges, hospitals, cultural institutions, state property, and federal property, was, and still is tax exempt. Attempts to cover the spiralling costs by raising the tax rate merely resulted in the further shrinkage of the tax base as white collar professionals fled the city for the lower property tax levies of the suburbs. The state legislature, controlled by the suddenly powerful combination of suburbs and the western districts, refused, and continues to refuse, to help...
...State Legislature and the governor must finally realize that Boston is the heart and soul of Massachusetts and thus deserves special consideration. Specifically, Boston should be empowered to levy taxes other than the property tax and should be granted more aid because of its large percentage of tax-exempt property. Finally, the federal government must concentrate on aiding the older, northeastern cities like Boston and New York...
...saying that a large part of the $2 million Harvard pays now is "voluntary," but such claims represent mere semantic distinctions. Of the three projects on which officials say Harvard makes some payment to the city, one is a housing project financed by Citicorp and therefore not legally tax-exempt. Another is a housing project on which Harvard agreed to make in-lieu-of-tax payments in return for a zoning code exemption. The largest part of what the University pays will ultimately derive from a similar package granting a zoning exemption in return for payments on the Medical Area...
Harvard should examine what it draws from the City of Boston in the way of services. Estimates place more than half of Boston's land in the tax-exempt category, so any burden Harvard places on the city must now be borne by increased taxes falling heavily on working class homeowners and renters within the city limits. Those who benefit most from Harvard's activities in Boston--affiliates like the faculty of the Medical School--live in the suburbs beyond the reach of the city's taxing power...