Subject: WSJ: Goat Herd Helps Trump Lower Tax Bite
From: "Roberts, Kelly" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2016 17:53:12 -0700

Goat Herd Helps Trump Lower Tax Bite<http://www.wsj.com/articles/goat-herd-helps-trump-lower-tax-bite-1461191607>
WSJ - Richard Rubin

Donald Trump has found a solution that cuts both his grass and his tax bill: Goats.

The Republican presidential front-runner's small goat herd, combined with hay farming and wood cutting, let him qualify for a New Jersey farmland tax break that saves him tens of thousands of dollars a year in property taxes on two golf courses, according to public records.

Mr. Trump's golf clubs in Bedminster and Colts Neck both receive the break and pay reduced property taxes on the part of the land devoted to agriculture. The Bedminster course includes 113 acres of hay production and eight goats, while the Colts Neck course has 40 acres of hay plus stands of trees, according to tax-break applications filed with local governments.

It isn't clear precisely how much Mr. Trump saves in taxes when his assessments are based on agricultural production rather than the land's true market value. One method of calculating the savings-taxing the farm portion of the golf course properties at the same per-acre level as the nonfarm portion-suggests he pays less than $1,000 in taxes a year on land that would otherwise carry annual taxes of about $80,000, according to property values listed on the state's website.

Mr. Trump continues a long tradition of famous and wealthy property owners who have benefited from the farmland assessment program, which was written into New Jersey's constitution in 1963 to prevent overdevelopment in the state with the highest population density in the U.S. Others have included former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, magazine publisher Steve Forbes and rock star Bruce Springsteen, according to published reports.

"This is a good example of Donald Trump farming the government," said Jeff Tittel, director of the state's Sierra Club chapter, who accuses the developer of "not paying his fair share" by using the incentive for a golf course instead of a legitimate farm.

The Trump campaign didn't respond to a request for comment about the tax break.

Mr. Trump has led in public polling in advance of New Jersey's June 7 primary election, as he tries to clinch a majority of delegates before July's Republican National Convention. New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie, a former presidential candidate, has endorsed him.

Mr. Trump's golf courses last applied for the farmland assessments in 2015, and both courses' requests were approved by local tax assessors. Each course is about 50 miles from Trump Tower in Manhattan and each is in a wealthy suburb known for its horse farms. William Laird, the Colts Neck assessor, said he had no doubt that the course complies with the law.

The records show both Trump courses work with local farmers. James Carter, the Bedminster farmer, declined to comment, and the Colts Neck farmer, Thomas Orgo, didn't reply to requests for comment.

The farmland tax break has been both popular and controversial in New Jersey as the Garden State tries to retain its agricultural heritage and placate voters who are upset by having the country's highest property taxes. As of 2013, more than 1 million acres in the state-18% of New Jersey's land area-was under farmland assessment, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

"The importance of the program to agriculture is paramount," said Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau. "You own land. You conduct farming practices that meet the threshold. And you're in."

Mr. Furey said policy changes in 2013 strengthened the program. Those included doubling the annual agricultural sales threshold from $500 to $1,000. "This whole awareness has been visited on the program for the better," he said.

But Mr. Tittel of the Sierra Club said the changes didn't go far enough and still allow corporate office parks and wealthy people's estates to qualify for a benefit. "It's survived politically, because it's been the landed gentry and the corporations that have taken advantage of it," he said.

The property tax breaks are separate from Mr. Trump's use of a so-called conservation easement on the Bedminster course that allowed him to claim a federal income-tax deduction. In that instance, Mr. Trump donated the golf course's future development rights to the town, and public records show his contribution reduced the property's value by $39.1 million by pledging not to build houses there. He could have deducted that much from his federal income taxes.

That was a one-time break. The property tax benefits can continue indefinitely as long as Mr. Trump and his goats and hay qualify under the state's rules.