23 town residents join tax-exemption lawsuit against U.
Hannah Waxman23 residents in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood of downtown Princeton have joined a lawsuit filed against the University’s tax-exempt status on April 1.Every year by April 1, a new suit has to be filed to continue the preexisting proceedings,Bruce Afran, an attorney who represents the plaintiffs, said.The original suit was filed in 2011 by several residents of Princeton, and was subsequently challenged by the University in February 2015, but was overturned by Judge Vito Bianco of the New Jersey State Tax Court.Bianco’s office did not respond to a request for comment.Robert Durkee ’69, University vice president and secretary, wrote in an email that neither the University nor the tax management office have received filing of the update to the new suit yet.He declined to comment further until such information is provided.Media relations specialist Min Pullan and General Counsel Ramona Romero did not respond to a request for comment.The New Jersey Tax Court clarified in November 2015 that the University must carry a burden of proof to ensure tax exemption.




