Boston City Council Plans Taxes on University Land

Members of the Boston City Council said yesterday that the Council is considering levying taxes on two Harvard-owned parking lots in Boston.

Adolp H. Brauneis, commissioner of assessing, said the city has the right to any educational institution on property that is not being used exclusively for educational purposes. Lots belonging to the Business School and the Medical School are the immediate objects of the Council's endeavors.

A voluntary payment in lieu of taxes would be a better solution to the problem, said Brauneis. Harvard now pays Cambridge under this arrangement but has blocked the attempts of Boston to procure a similar payment.

Councillor Gabriel F. Piemonte, who asked the Council to tax the University at beginning of the year, reported yesterday that "the Constitution is explicit as far as the direction of the levy is conced," and that there was no doubt in his mind that Harvard should be assessed some sort of service charge.

Council Seeks Legal Loopholes

The tax question was brought up Tuesday in a meeting of the City Council executive session. Brauneis reported that the city is looking for legal loop-holes which would enable Boston to assess the various tax-free institutions, including schools and churches, if they are unwillingly make a voluntary contribution.

However, Arthur Coffey, chief of the city law department, said he was not certain that his department would be successful in its attempts to overcome university lawyers. He has not yet studied the state constitution for any loop-holes.

Urge Voluntary Payment

Coffey agreed with the other members of the Council that a contributory payment would likely be the most satisfactory solution.

In his report Brauneis cited a recent Ohio case in which a dormitory was taxed because it was not necessary college housing. The same situation is prevalent Boston, said Brauneis, but he did not which colleges owned such housing.

Brauneis also cautioned the Council not to take any action that was not on strictly legal grounds, as the city would be unable to repay any amounts if the colleges were taxed and then won their case.

Harvard Frustrates Mayors

Boston mayors have tried for several years to procure a payment from Boston's tax free institutions, and have consistently been perturbed by Harvard's willingness to make voluntary payments to bridge but not Boston. Occasional meetings have been held with the heads of some of the universities, but have to date been totally fruitless.