New York Post

PRIVATE JETS ON STANDBY

Yacht sales, too, till elex

- By LYDIA MOYNIHAN

The very top of the 1% are waiting until after the presidenti­al election to buy big-ticket items like jets in the hopes that a win by Donald Trump could save them millions on taxes, The Post has learned.

“I’m waiting until after November,” one bicoastal source who is looking to buy both a jet and a yacht for his business told The Post. “If I can save millions on my taxes by waiting a few more months, I will.”

Business owners — or even someone who is paid through an LLC as a consultant — can deduct the cost of a jet or yacht if it is used for a work expense like flying to meetings or hosting clients.

Separate deductions allow them to claim its running costs, too.

Trump told a group of billionair­es at a recent Palm Beach fundraiser hosted by hedge-fund manager John Paulson that restoring the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a priority, according to CNN.

One of those cuts was 100% depreciati­on, or deducting the entire cost of a yacht or jet used for business expenses from taxes.

That means a $40 million jet is equivalent to a $40 million deduction from your tax bill — or nearly $15 million in savings given the average tax rate on the wealthiest Americans is 37%.

The amount someone can deduct from a tax bill for a capital investment — an item like a jet that can help a company’s growth — fell from 80% last year to 60% this year, in line with how the 2017 tax cuts were put in place.

It will drop to 40% in 2025, 20% in 2026, and 0% in 2027 unless the tax cuts are restored.

Trump’s comments behind closed doors have not been mirrored in public so far.

But a source involved in the Palm Beach Internatio­nal Boat Show in March — which featured more than 800 vessels and attracted more than 55,000 visitors — said one of the main topics was whether to wait until the election.

The boat show didn’t disclose how many sales were made.

Eyes on tax rates

“A lot of us are waiting to see what happens in the election . . . the Republican Party has promised 100% write-offs, so that would save companies,” the Florida-based source added.

The prices of jets and yachts seem to show demand is slowing. In recent months, demand for anything between a super-midsize jet, which can sell for as little as $12 million, and ultra-long-range aircraft, which can sell for as much as $75 million, has dipped.

A super-midsize aircraft, like a Gulfstream G280 or Bombardier Challenger 300, can fly around 3,500 miles or the distance between New York and London.

An ultra-long range aircraft, like a Bombardier Global 6000 or Gulfstream G700, can fly more than 8,000 miles — the distance from the Big Apple to the Middle East.

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