Boston Plans No Tax On Colleges This Year

The City of Boston has decided not to submit to the upcoming session of the state legislature a bill to enable the city to tax local university dormitories and parking lots, Boston law authorities said yesterday.

Arthur Coffey, chief of the city's law department, stated that his department would make no attempt to pass the legislation in the immediate future. To date only one state, New Hampshire, allows its cities to tax the nonprofit property belonging to local colleges and universities.

Two Harvard parking lots, belonging to the Medical and Business schools, would have faced assessment because they constitute property not being exclusively used for educational purposes. Adolph H. Brauneis, commissioner of assessing, said that despite the present reprieve such an assessment would continue to be seriously considered by the Council. If the bill were passed, the universities involved would present strong opposition. Authorities at Boston University forcely denounced the Council's plan. George A. Walmer, administrative vice-president, said yesterday that his office was presently drawing up a "confidential report that will show to the citizens of Boston what tremendous value they are getting out of our property."

The tax question arose last month in a meeting of the City Council's executive session. Dormitories in Boston may be able to taxation if they are not "necessary college housing." Brauneis reported that the city was searching for legal loop-holes which would make possible assessing not only schools, but of other tax free institutions such as churches.

Brauneis warned the Council, however, that if they lost the forthcoming suits, the city would be unable to repay any taxes that had been previously assessed.

Coffey also expressed concern that his department would be unable to overcome the university lawyers that would present the suits.

In a recent Ohio case, a college dormitory was declared liable to taxation. Brauneis says such housing is prevalent in Boston, but he has refused to identify the colleges involved. Harvard's Medical and Business School dorms, located in Boston, might be affected.