The Trump Organization had been successful in securing reductions for its Miami, Fla. resort property through appeals in each of the previous four years, but was denied in its effort to trim the nearly $1.8 million assessment for 2016. In total, the Trump Organization paid $2.9 million in 2016 property taxes for its South Florida properties.
Trump National Doral Miami (Fla.) golf resort has been denied a property-tax break for its 2016 assessment after securing one through successful appeals in each of the four previous years, the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel reported, according to a ruling from Miami-Dade County that was released on May 18.
For the fifth year in a row, Trump National Doral appealed its property-tax assessment to try to trim a nearly $1.8 million, 2016 tax bill for the 643-room resort and spa that features the famed Blue Monster golf course, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
While appeals worked the previous four years, a hearing officer sided this year with the county property appraiser over the Trump Organization’s tax attorney in deciding the value of the golf resort, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Tax-assessment appeals are common for commercial properties, and through the years The Trump Organization has often challenged them to try to shrink tax bills, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Even though the latest appeal was now connected to the President of the United States, Miami-Dade officials have said the owner doesn’t factor into tax appeals, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“There’s nothing that seems to be different,” Miami-Dade Tax Collector Marcus Saiz de la Mora said in April about the Doral appeal. “If you are a taxpayer, you have the right to appeal the assessment.”
Trump has paid at least $2.9 million in 2016 property taxes for a collection of South Florida properties, the Sun-Sentinel reported, including:
- Almost $1.8 million for Trump National Doral.
- Nearly $400,000 for the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla. The club lost a tax assessment appeal for that property in January, the Sun-Sentinel reported, but is still pursuing a pending lawsuit against Palm Beach County, Fla. over the Jupiter club’s past tax assessments, which could ultimately bring a refund if the club wins in court.
- About $140,000 for the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., which gets a big discount by using land leased from the county.
- About $460,000 for the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., which has been used frequently by the President since he took office, including as a site for hosting official visits from foreign dignitaries. Trump appealed Mar-a-Lago’s assessment in years past, but not in 2016, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
- Another $183,000 for two homes and a vacant lot near Mar-a-Lago.
Last year, Trump National Doral used a tax appeal to cut about $143,000 off its 2015 property taxes, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Trump National Doral tried again this year to shrink its tax bill by seeking a reduction of the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s estimate that the club was worth about $112 million in 2016 — up from $98 million the prior year.
At a May 11 hearing, Trump attorney Gary Appel, argued that the county overestimated factors such as the resort’s room-rate revenues, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Some rooms weren’t available during 2016 because of renovations, which should lessen their value, Appel contended.
Appel also argued that the county assigned too much value to the development potential of the property, saying Doral wouldn’t sell off land that was linked to golf operations, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The county and Trump National Doral were not “oceans apart” in the dispute, which centered on “a few percentage points of difference,” Appel said during the hearing.
The county maintained that its taxable value estimate was “conservative” for what is a “well-known, luxurious resort,” the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The property value was based on comparisons to resorts similar in size and value to Doral and also based on land values of nearby properties, the county said.
While a downtown Miami hotel with a similar number of rooms had its 2016 taxable value reduced, “it’s not the same” as Doral, county hearing officer Pedro Alvarez said during the May 11 hearing.
And even though some rooms were out of commission during renovations at Doral, “there’s value there,” Alvarez added. He also said the sales and development potential of portions of the Doral property has to be factored into the value, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Doral’s tax bill for 2016 has already been paid in full, so if Trump had prevailed, a refund would have been due, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
After losing before the county hearing officer, Trump National Doral could still file a lawsuit to try to lower the tax bill, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Representatives for The Trump Organization could not be reached for comment about the decision, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The owner of a property, even if it’s the President, shouldn’t factor into a tax-assessment appeal, tax consultant Stan Beck of Hallandale Beach, Fla., told the Sun-Sentinel. For decades, Beck has handled South Florida tax-assessment appeals on everything from homes to shopping centers, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“I can’t imagine what the difference is,” Beck said about handling a case involving a President’s property. “It’s very common for people to seek review of their [tax] assessments.”
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