“Our wealthiest colleges and universities have amassed billions of dollars, virtually tax-free, all while indoctrinating our youth with un-American ideas,” Cotton said in a statement, adding that the revenue would “create high paying, working-class jobs.”
Cotton estimates the bill would generate $2 billion per year in revenue for registered apprenticeship programs. And while funding for apprenticeships is necessary, said Sandy Baum, a nonresident senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy, taxing endowments of private institutions to generate revenue may not be the way to go.
Private college endowments are funded by private charitable donations, and the money is often used for student financial aid, research and campus improvements, among other expenses.