Scott wants Ivy League to come here

Yale should move to Florida, according to Gov. Rick Scott. He says a plan to tax the school’s $25.6 billion endowment should bring Yale south. Yale was founded in 1701— 144 years before Florida was admitted to the Union.

TALLAHASSEE— What Florida needs is an Ivy League college.

At least that’s what Gov. Rick Scott thinks.

Scott released a statement Tuesday saying Yale, one of the country’s most prestigious colleges, should move to Florida. The reason? A proposal by Connecticut lawmakers to tax the school’s $25.6 billion endowment.

“With news that the Connecticut Legislature wants to unfairly tax one of the nation’s most renowned universities to deal with the state’s budget shortfall, it is clear that all businesses in Connecticut, including Yale, should look tomove to Florida,” Scott said.

“We would welcome a world-renowned university like Yale to our state, and I can commit that we will not raise taxes on their endowment. This would add yet another great university to our state.”

But Yale won’t be retiring to Florida any time soon.

“It’s wonderful to be recognized as an outstanding asset, but Yale, New Haven, and Connecticut have been on common ground to great mutual benefit for 300 years,’’ Yale spokesman Tom Conroy stated in an email. “We’re looking forward to reaching even greater heights in education, research and civic engagement over the next three centuries and more.”

Yale was founded in 1701— 144 years before Florida was admitted to the Union.

Scott was perplexed as to why Yale wouldn’t make the move and scoffed at the notion that his proposal was not serious.

“Why? They’re going to tax their endowment income,” Scott said when informed Yale declined his offer.

Connecticut lawmakers face a $266 million deficit this year and a projected $900 million deficit next year. Some have proposed a 7 percent tax on the investment profits of Yale’s massive endowment, which made gains of $2.6 billion last year, according to the Hartford Courant.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, opposes any tax increase. He said Scott’s statementwas a partisan gimmick, not an economic development strategy.

“Has Governor Scott sent out a press release claiming to recruit companies from North Carolina after its Republican governor just signed a discriminatory, antigay law? Or is this more about partisan politics than anything else?” Malloy spokesman Devon Puglia asked in an email.

Scott has previously targeted businesses to flee Connecticut for low-tax Florida, sending letters to business leaders there and attending a roundtable meeting with them last June.

It’s a strategy he’s used in New York, California, Minnesota, Kentucky and Illinois — all of which had Democratic governors at the time he sent letters or directly recruited them in the state.