<p>One problem in Boston, where more than 50% of the land area is controlled by non-profits and it therefore exempt from property tax, is that institutional creep leads to many of these groups constantly expanding into the surrounding community, which then removes those properties from the tax rolls, decreasing revenue to the city.</p>
<p>Boston has a fairly aggressive PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) program, but some the amounts paid are next to nothing. Northeastern, for example, paid only $30,000 in 2009, with a property value of over a billion dollars.</p>
<p>This paper is a little long but it is an interesting read:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.american.edu/spa/publicpurpose/upload/LaClair_12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.american.edu/spa/publicpurpose/upload/LaClair_12.pdf</a></p>
<p>Boston calculated that non-profits should pay 25% in cash or services of what their property taxes would be if fully taxed, based on what percentage of the city’s budget was determined to be for public services like police, fire, transportation, etc. Almost none come close to this.</p>
<p>If Princeton is already paying 35% or so, they are probably already paying their fair share.</p>