Columbia’s $15 Billion Endowment Risks Big Hit on GOP Tax Tweak (1)

Columbia University’s large population of international students has helped the school avoid paying a tax on its roughly $15 billion endowment. Now, that’s poised to change as President Donald Trump and other Republicans ratchet up their attacks on elite colleges.

The 1.4% excise tax on endowments, passed in 2017 during the first Trump administration, affects private universities with endowments of $500,000 per full-time student. Columbia, with roughly 36,000 students has stayed below the threshold, thanks in large part to its estimated 14,000 international pupils.

The tax bill released by House Republicans this week proposed increasing the rate wealthier colleges pay. But it also changed the formula for how the ...