The Handle: How American Cities Tax the Universities They Can't Tax
American cities generally cannot tax the property of colleges and universities their states have exempted.
American cities generally cannot tax the property of colleges and universities their states have exempted. That does not mean the institutions and the economic activity around them are beyond local reach. Depending on state law, cities may collect revenue through wage and payroll taxes, state reimbursements, negotiated payments, service fees, enrollment charges, consumption and leasehold taxes, special assessments, exemption challenges, and municipal utility revenue.
This book examines how those approaches work and why similar university towns can have very different results. Its central argument is that the form of a payment matters as much as its size. A voluntary payment can disappear when an agreement ends. A state reimbursement can shrink when an appropriation falls short. A tax or fee may continue without another annual decision. In many places, the most important choice was made decades ago in a state constitution, statute, or municipal charter rather than in negotiations between current city and university leaders.
The book draws on cases from across the United States and is supported by a coded inventory covering 27 states. Its sources include constitutions, statutes, court decisions, municipal budgets, agency records, institutional documents, and published reporting. The source notes identify what each chapter rests on, distinguish calculations from reported figures, and leave unresolved questions open. Radford, Virginia, is where the question behind the book began. It appears here as one case among many.