M.I.T. Actions Could Decide Dorm Taxes

Harvard officials stressed yesterday that although they consider all married student housing to be tax exempt, the University does not expect to become involved in any direct clash with the Cambridge Board of Assessors.

The tax status of married student housing has never been litigated in Massachusetts courts, but University officials pointed out that the burden of proving the tax-exempt status of such facilities will fall on MIT, not Harvard.

MIT Liable Sooner

MIT's new married student dorms will become liable to taxation by April, 1964, a full year before Harvard's buildings, now being constructed on the Charles below Dunster House.

Thus MIT will have to face the Cambridge Board of Assessors before Harvard, and one University administrator indicated yesterday that Harvard will probably go along with the agreement reached between MIT and the board.

The official commented that any litigation, by MIT or by Harvard, should not be constructed as a fight with the assessors, but merely "an attempt to clarify a confused point of law."

Thomas F. Gibson, chairman of the Board of Assessment, said last week that he considers married student housing to be fully taxable.

However, several well-informed observers said yesterday that Cambridge will have to ignore a strong precedent in Boston if its is to tax married student housing.

In 1959, Boston officials decided that Boston University's married student forms were tax exempt. At the same time, B.U. agreed to pay Boston 50 percent of the assessed valuation in lieu of taxes every year.

Harvard officials have already made the same offer to Cambridge, if the City declares married student housing in Cambridge tax-exempt.