arms length transaction donald trump gift tax scam donald trump propublica Eric Trump eric trump donald trump gift tax scam gift tax new york real estate propublica propublica gift tax scam pt Grifters gonna grift sheri dillon trump park east
Did Donald Trump ACCIDENTALLY Forget He Was Related To Eric And Commit Tax Fraud?
Clutch the pearls! It appears from his financial disclosure that Donald Trump may have committed a wee touch of tax fraud. Did the Grifter in Chief evade $360,000 in federal taxes with a sham real estate sale to Eric Trump? And can one find bear scat in the forest?
Let's Fraudsplore!!!
Last month, Trump's lawyer Sheri "Manila Folders" Dillon cobbled together a financial disclosure that was true enough for Trump to sign. After the Government Ethics Office posted it online, ProPublica put out the call for nerdland to start digging through the 98-page document. Right away, the Bloodhound Gang noticed a funny smell coming off the sale of two condos in Trump Parc East.
At first they thought it was just the faux French spelling of Park, mais NON! It was le parfum indéniable of grift!
Poppy Trump bought 100 Central Park in 1981, when the building was 80 rent-controlled apartments. Trump redeveloped it as 70 luxury condos, renaming the building Trump Parc East and selling the units for an average of $3.5 million. Even Donny Jr. bought one in 2007 for $2 million. In February 2016, Trump listed unit 13G for $790,000, and 14G for $800,000. But two months later, he sold the condos for $350,000 each. HUH!
Image from ProPublica
Wow, that's less than half the market value! Whoever bought those condos must be one hell of a negotiator. Congratulations CPS Apartment 13G, LLC!
Wait a second! Weak chin, white eyelashes, vampire cuspids...
Why, Eric Trump! We'd know you anywhere!
It sure was awful nice of Eric's dad to sell him $1.6 million dollars of real estate for $700,000!
Now, there's nothing illegal about the sale, and there's nothing illegal about using a limited liability company or LLC for the transaction. BUT, the taxman has a right to know whether the buyer and seller are related. Because the law presumes that strangers are doing business, while family are taking care of each other. And Eric Trump buying the condos through an LLC does not make this into an arms length transaction.
WHICH PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS KNOW DAMN WELL.
So when the State of New York asked if the parties to the transaction are related, Donald Trump was obliged to say, "Yeah, that albino dipshit is my son." And he didn't.
Instead, he hid the fact that he'd just made a $900,000 gift to his son by selling him $1.6 million of condos for $700,000. Why ever would he do that????
Well! The gift tax rate is 40%, and 40% of $900,000 is $360,000. Which is real money, even for a billionaire. Sure, it's tax fraud. But, we're talking about the guy who used his family charity to pay his son's $7 Boy Scout registration dues. Fast and loose is kind of his thing!
As ProPublica reported, scamming the IRS is the only reason to pretend this was an arms length transaction. The State of New York doesn't care about gifts -- it only charges transfer tax on money actually paid. And having the two low-priced apartments actually hurts the other condo-owners by depressing the average unit value.
"This is really, really primo real estate," said Bob Lord, a tax attorney who reviewed the transaction records at ProPublica's request. "Why would you show a sale at $350,000 other than to play games for tax purposes?"
There's always the possibility that Donald Trump's 2016 tax return would show that he actually did pay the $360,000 in gift taxes. Although in Wonkland, we're calling that one not bloody likely. But please, Donny, prove that we're all just haters and losers! Release those tax returns so you can rub our jealous noses in it! We dare you!
[ProPublica / StreetEasy]
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Liz Dye lives in Baltimore with her wonderful husband and a houseful of teenagers. When she isn't being mad about a thing on the internet, she's hiding in plain sight in the carpool line. She's the one wearing yoga pants glaring at her phone.