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Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by <a href="https://lipperalpha.refinitiv.com/" data-omtr-intcmp="topnav_more_refinitive_info">Refinitiv Lipper</a>. <br>Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the decline in math and reading scores among 13-year-olds since 2012 and offers ways President-elect Trump could reform the U.S. education system.<br><strong>EXCLUSIVE</strong>: A GOP lawmaker is seeking to significantly raise taxes on endowment profits being banked by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">private universities</a> to align their levy with the current corporate tax rate.<br>Many private universities have invested funds for operational use that acquire interest each year, known as an endowment. In 2017, the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted a 1.4% tax on the interest private universities were receiving from these endowments. <br>However, a new Republican bill would raise that tax to hold elite educational institutions to the same tax standard as corporations, which currently see a 21% corporate tax.<br>Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, is expected to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/state-and-local/legislation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduce legislation</a> on Wednesday, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, to raise the excise tax on annual private university endowment investment returns by nearly 20 percentage points, from 1.4% to 21%.<br><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schools-nationwide-brace-trump-including-measures-compelling-teachers-not-cooperate-ice" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE BRACE FOR TRUMP, INCLUDING MEASURES COMPELLING TEACHERS NOT TO COOPERATE WITH ICE</strong></a><br><span>Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas</span> <span>(Nathan Posner/File)</span><br>The <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/elections/republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GOP-backed bill</a> would then require the revenue to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, a fund managing the government's budget, to be used to reduce the national deficit. <br>Nehls tells Fox News Digital he introduced the bill because elite universities should not have "far lower" taxes than working Americans.<br><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/confidence-colleges-universities-hit-low-new-poll-indicates" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CONFIDENCE IN COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES REACHES ALL-TIME LOW, NEW POLL INDICATES</strong></a><br>"Elite private universities have accumulated and sit on massive university endowments and pay a tax less than 2% on the investment earnings of their endowments, which is far lower than what most hardworking Americans pay in taxes. Meanwhile, these universities have significantly increased tuition for America’s youth, which has overwhelmingly surpassed the average annual inflation rate," he said.<br><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/economy/taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The tax</a> would apply to private colleges and universities that meet certain requirements, such as institutions that have 500 or more students.<br><span>Harvard University</span> <span>(Maddie Meyer/File)</span><br>Additionally, universities that would be taxed are those that aggregate fair market value of assets of at least $500,000 per student and that have more than 50% of its student body located in the United States, according to the bill. <br>Endowments subject to the tax, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia, reportedly hold a combined $270 billion of assets under management.<br>"This is unacceptable," Nehls told Fox. "My bill would put elite universities with massive endowments on notice by holding them to the same tax standard as corporations."<br><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP</strong></a><br>If passed, the tax would begin effective immediately after the date of the bill's enactment.<br>Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.<br>Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.<br>By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/terms-of-use">Terms of Use</a>, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.<br>Subscribed<br> You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! <br> This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by <a href="https://www.factset.com/" data-omtr-intcmp="footer_factset">Factset</a>. Powered and implemented by <a href="https://www.factset.com/solutions/business-needs/digital-solutions" data-omtr-intcmp="footer_factset_digital_solutions">FactSet Digital Solutions</a>. <a href="https://www.factset.com/privacy" data-omtr-intcmp="footer_factset_privacy">Legal Statement</a>. 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