Posted on 03/08/2016 11:54:52 AM PST by GIdget2004
One of the enduring mysteries of Donald Trump is just how much wealth he has. Forbes pegs his net worth at $4.5 billion, while Bloomberg News puts it at $2.9 billion. The GOP front-runner himself has said he's "really rich."
Maybe, but Trump's income is low enough to qualify for a New York state property-tax break that most high-rollers don't get.
It's called the STAR program, which stands for the New York State School Tax Relief Program and has been around since 1997. It offers an approximately $300 annual benefit for those who qualify. Hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners get it.
Here's where it gets interesting for Trump: To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less. One wouldn't think a guy as rich as Trump claims to be would qualify, but records filed with the city's Department of Finance show he received a $302 STAR benefit on his latest property-tax bill for his Trump Tower penthouse on Fifth Avenue.
That means whatever his annual income is, it's less than $500,000. (The state defines income for STAR purposes as federal adjusted gross income minus the taxable amount of total distributions from annuities or individual retirement accounts.) And Trump would have to have declared his New York apartment as his permanent residence and sent the state a copy of his federal income-tax return in order to qualify for the $302 tax break.
"It's strange that a billionaire would apply for a $302 tax benefit and, moreover, that he would take it," said Martha Stark, a property-tax expert and former New York City finance commissioner who is now a lecturer at Baruch College. A Trump spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at crainsnewyork.com ...
And I doubt he knew about it or noticed either.
Why would he notice what amounts to a nice tip on a dinner with a couple of friends?
One OWNED by the low level management employee!
None of the CPOs I served with in the Navy were rich, not even the E-9s!
Don’t blame people for using the tax code to their advantage. That’s why the politicians wrote it that way. Only the people that can afford to hire the tax attorneys and accountants can really take full advantage of it.
And of course who are the politicians? Attorneys and accountants. It’s a self perpetuating system.
Got a problem with it? So do I. But that’s the way it is.
D'oh!
I don't even know if that was autocorrect or an actual typo.
Of course, I meant CEO. (I had to undo autocorrect this time, so I'm blaming my phone!)
I hate autocorrect, except when I’m really wrong and it saves my butt!
Which is exactly how you control the middle class.
>> Corporation can hold billions and pay a salary of 20 bucks if they want to <<
Not at all true for a closely held corporation.
Someone with absolutely NO BRAIN wrote this article.
The cost of OPERATING and INSURING Trump's Jet and other aircraft in his ownership costs about $500 thousand a month.
Trump’s Boeing 757 alone is worth $100 million.
Ref:”If Trump’s annual income is less than $500k then kudos to him! It means he must have a crap-ton of income shelters set up to protect himself against taxes.....”
I am a strong supporter of Ted Cruz and Trump is at the bottom of my list of Republican candidates. But I agree with you on this issue. While I think Trump is a terrible choice for President, I am sure he shelters as much of his wealth as possible in his corporations where he can expense many luxuries and is taxed at a lower level. Therefore, his “personal” wealth and income would be much lower than his actual net worth (even though it is all his money). This is about the only aspect of Trump I can say I like.
You do so by not actually owning it. The corporation or the foundation or the family trust owns everything and offers it to you as a perk.
That’s how Al Sharpton avoids all the judgements against him. He doesn’t own anything.
That's not true. ALL personal use must be treated as income.
The tax preparation and accounting costs far exceed the benefit. (for a billionaire).
Yeh, you can afford to fly around in a $150 million jet on $500,000 per year. LOL!
I asked what was wrong with it how much he pays his accountants is not wrong. Further, I suspect taking this deduction was a simple matter.
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