Regarding "Tax revaluation causes anxiety" and "Report: University has big local economic effect" (Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008)
Your article "Tax revaluation causes anxiety" suggests that Borough and Township taxes might be higher than they otherwise would be because of the presence of the University, but the economic impact report you cover in "U. has big local econ. effect" suggests that the opposite might be the case.
The economic impact report points out that there are several respects in which the presence of the University reduces the pressure on taxes. University visitors boost the Borough's parking revenues and its revenues from hotel occupancy taxes. The higher these revenues, the lower the need for tax revenues from residents. Similarly, the presence of the University improves the municipalities' bond ratings and thus lowers their costs of borrowing, which in turn reduces the pressure on tax revenues. The University provides some services for itself (trash collection, maintenance of University-owned but publicly used roads) that other members of the community rely on government to provide, and the University pays full taxes on some properties that could be taken off the tax rolls. One result of keeping such properties on the tax rolls is that last year the University paid nearly $3.42 million in school taxes, though the total number of school children in University-owned housing was 85. The estimated cost of educating these children was $1.36 million, well less than half of the amount the University paid.
The impact report finds that the combination of University tax payments, fees and voluntary contributions more than offsets the costs of services provided to the University. It also finds that, compared to peer institutions, "Princeton is among the leaders in terms of the total amounts paid to local governments and school districts, and if Princeton's contributions are measured ... as a percentage of local budgets, the comparison is even more favorable."
Finally, the impact report shows that the presence of a university in a community increases property values, allowing the community "to choose between higher levels of municipal services, lower tax rates, or some combination of both," and it suggests that "it appears likely that any revenues [Princeton Borough and Township] lose as a result of the University's tax-exempt status are to a significant degree offset by increases in the value of taxable property associated with proximity to the Princeton campus." Higher property values provide economic benefit for the owners of the properties; whether they result in higher taxes depends on what tax rate the municipality chooses to apply.
Robert Durkee '69, Vice President and Secretary
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