Donald Trump cannot stop insisting that Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach resort and club, is worth far, far more than its assessed value, even as his practice of overvaluing his properties is on trial in a New York court. Judge Arthur Engoron is already finding that Trump committed fraud by inflating his assets to get favorable terms from lenders and insurers. But if Trump wants the world to believe that Mar-a-Lago is worth $1 billion, or $1.5 billion, or $1.8 billion, then Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz thinks it should be taxed accordingly.
Moskowitz, whose Florida district includes parts of Palm Beach County, has written a letter to Dorothy Jacks, the Palm Beach County property appraiser, detailing Trump’s claims about the resort’s worth.
“Between 2011 and 2021, you value the Mar-a-Lago property between $18 million and $28 million,” he wrote. However, “Last week, Donald Trump posted the following on Truth Social: ‘This highly partisan Democrat ‘Judge’ (All the Clubs, etc.) just ruled that Mar-a-Lago was WORTH just 18 Million Dollars when, in fact, it may be worth 100 times that amount’. Eric Trump also echoed this” in a tweet claiming that Mar-a-Lago is speculated to be worth “well over a billion dollars.”
“Mar-a-Lago was listed as worth $490 million in financial documents given to banks,” Moskowitz wrote. “If the property value of Mar-a-Lago is so much higher than it was appraised, will you be amending the property value in line with the Trump family’s belief that the property is worth well over a billion dollars?”
It’s a simple question, right? But it actually gets to one of the key issues in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil suit against Trump, Don Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization. How much Trump’s properties are worth matters when it comes to getting loans or insurance—and he’s been manipulating those numbers for years, as Engoron already found.
Trump faces serious penalties for these practices in the New York civil trial. But Palm Beach County could get on it right now and tax him at the amount he has repeatedly and very publicly claimed Mar-a-Lago is worth.
Sign the petition: Hold Trump accountable without delay.
