A former Trump official renewed scrutiny of university technology transfer by arguing that proposed “R&D taxes” on university licensing income would discourage innovation and undermine federally funded research commercialization. The proposal discussed would require universities to pay or surrender some portion of income derived from licensing discoveries developed with federal grants. The argument centers on the Bayh-Dole Act framework, which allows universities to patent federally funded discoveries and license them to private companies in exchange for royalties. The critique says taxing these flows would reduce incentives to patent and could shift capital away from university-driven commercialization in areas such as semiconductors, energy systems, medicines, and other critical technologies. The piece points to conservative think-tank proposals that include demanding a royalty from universities that earn licensing revenue, and one suggestion that would repeal Bayh-Dole altogether. The author counters that government already collects multiple taxes on innovation and that university technology transfer offices typically have “meager” licensing revenues relative to the system’s role. For university leaders and policymakers, the key takeaway is that tech transfer is becoming a tax-policy battleground. Institutions may need to prepare for intensified legislative scrutiny of how federally funded intellectual property is monetized.