Princeton University Must Prove It Should be Tax Exempt: Reports

The burden of proof to show that it should be considered tax exempt is on Princeton University, the Princeton Packet reports.

Judge Vito L. Bianco handed the ruling down earlier this month, finding that four residents who are challenging the University’s status have legal standing in the case, according to the report.

The lawsuit challenges the tax-exempt status of some of the University’s buildings that are used for commercial use, such as eateries.

The University is also being accused of acting like a for-profit institution, including holding a licensing agreement for a chemotherapy drug.

Bianco is the same judge who ruled in June that Morristown Medical Center was not tax exempt for three years. Although the medical center is a non-profit and therefore tax exempt, the businesses and entities inside of it, including doctors and practices, were not non-profit.

The medical center thus will end up paying $15.5 million in taxes to the town over the next decade.

The University said it shouldn’t bear the burden of proof because it is the defendant in the case, and it is typically the plaintiff who bears that responsibility, according to njbiz.com.

Renee Steinhagen, of New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center said the judge has placed the burden correctly, as the University knows which of its facilities are used for education and research and which are used for the private inurement of individuals, according to the report.