Trump’s Riches and the Real-Estate Tax Racket

Trump’s Riches and the Real-Estate Tax Racket:

"Take property taxes. Trump often employs a tricky two-step. In the 1990s, he bought 147 acres in Westchester County and built a pristine 18-hole golf course, complete with a 101-foot-tall waterfall and a $20 million-plus, 75,000-square-foot clubhouse. In his financial disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission this year, Trump valued the golf course and palatial clubhouse at more than $50 million and said he made $10.3 million from it last year and early this year. However, when it came time to pay property taxes, he claimed that the property and clubhouse was worth just $1.36 million—a 97 percent cut from his FEC disclosure figure. Right before an ABC News investigative report was set to highlight the discrepancy, Trump’s lawyers bumped up the valuation to $9 million. That’s still far short of the at least $14.3 million the city assessor estimated it at. On top of that, in 2008, Trump even got a 55 percent valuation reduction—from $38 million to $16 million."