Donald Trump is playing hardball with the government in a New York town, claiming that one of his golf courses is now worth just 10 percent of the town's valuation.
Trump says his Trump National Golf Club in Ossining, is worth just $1.4 million, whereas the government taxes the course at a value of $13.5 million. He filed a June 16 complaint contesting its valuation, which is the basis for the taxes levied on the club.
If Trump can convince the government that his valuation of the 140-acre property is accurate, then he would save big time on taxes, with the club's bill dropping from $471,000 to $47,000, according to lohud.com. Trump's neighbors would be forced to make up the $424,000 difference in the tax bill, which is spread between school taxes and payments to the village of Briarcliff Manor, the town of Ossining and Westchester County.
The club was valued at $35 million as recently as 2007, just a few years after Trump bought the course, then called Briar Hall, and pumped in a reported $45 million to renovate the facility. However, after the financial crisis in 2008, Ossining agreed to slash the value of the club by over half after pleading from Trump.
There's no explanation given in Trump's complaint for the sudden, massive further devaluation of his property, one of 16 he owns around the world. It's up to the Ossining Board of Assessment Review to determine if Trump's claims are valid. If he doesn't get the reduction he seeks, he can appeal to the New York Supreme Court.
It's unlikely to go as Trump would like. The initial report found a three-bedroom home at the club's 16th hole going for $2 million, or $600,000 more than Trump values his entire course.
Donald Trump files to devalue NY course by 90 percent
