Nationwide, The Trump Organization is continuing its longstanding practice of suing local governments to reassess the value of its properties downward. The goal: pay fewer property taxes on the revalued assets.
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The suits are not unusual per se, in that commercial property owners regularly sue to knock down their property tax bills. Before he was elected, Trump routinely did so.
The distinction is that no president in modern times has undertaken legal battles with local governments, nor has any former president done as little as Trump has to separate himself from his business interests while holding office.
Since becoming president, Trump’s companies have filed no fewer than nine lawsuits against municipalities in New York, Illinois and Florida, ProPublica reports.
The dynamic between federal and local power is decidedly asymmetrical. Larry Noble of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center told ProPublica that municipalities “rely on resources from the federal government and the federal government can make your life easier or much more difficult.”
ProPublica quoted a spokesman for the Trump Organization: "This is a routine practice and any suggestion otherwise is simply ridiculous.”
One example is in Ossining, New York, involving the valuation of Trump National Westchester Golf Club. Trump bought the course more than 20 years ago for $7.5M and spent $40M for renovations.
According to presidential financial disclosures, the property is worth $50M. Ossining assesses the property at $15M.
Before the election, in 2015, the Trump Organization asserted the value of the property to be $1.4M in a lawsuit filed in Westchester County court. Rather than settle, public outcry persuaded the town to take the unusual, and expensive, route of going to court over the matter.
Another example is in Cook County, Illinois, where the Trump Organization is asserting in court that the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago is a “failed business,” and the riverfront retail space is worthless.
Trump routinely takes Cook County to court over the building and has since 2001. Currently, there are five local open cases filed on behalf of the Trump Organization, all regarding Trump Tower Chicago.
In Jupiter, Florida, near Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Organization is suing the Palm Beach County tax assessor over its bill for the Trump National Golf Course Palm Beach. According to Trump, the current $19.5M assessment "exceeds the market value" for the course.
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