Trump’s Doral resort pushes for tax break

Dealing with political dramas like firing the FBI director didn’t keep President Donald Trump from trying to trim his South Florida property tax bills.

While Trump on Thursday was at the White House fending off criticism for ousting James Comey, an attorney for Trump National Doral was in Miami arguing to lower the golf resort’s nearly $1.8 million 2016 tax bill.

“Virtually all” large property owners appeal their tax assessments, Trump attorney Gary Appel said during Thursday’s hearing.

“We are no different than anyone else,” said Appel, who has also handled tax assessment appeals for Trump properties in Palm Beach County.

Trump and his companies though the years have routinely challenged South Florida property tax assessments to try to shrink their tax bills.

For Trump, that hasn’t changed since he went from real-estate mogul to commander-in-chief.

Trump’s Doral resort is angling to reduce its property tax bill for the fifth year in a row.

Doral’s 2015 property tax appeal shaved about $143,000 off the resort’s tax bill, according to the county tax collector’s office.

A decision on the Doral appeal for the 2016 property taxes is expected by May 31.

Representatives for Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County, where most of Trump’s South Florida properties are located, say they treat Trump tax cases no differently now that he is president.

“It has no bearing on the assessment,” Miami-Dade Deputy Property Appraiser Lazaro Solis said. “We have been assessing that property since long before he was president.”

Trump and his companies have paid at least $2.9 million in 2016 property taxes for a collection of South Florida properties including:

Almost $1.8 million for Trump National Doral, where the results of the appeal are still pending.

Nearly $400,000 for the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter. The club lost a tax assessment appeal in January.

About $140,000 for the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, which gets a big discount by using land leased from the county.

About $460,000 for the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Trump appealed Mar-a-Lago’s assessment in years past, but not in 2016.

Another $183,000 for two homes and a vacant lot near Mar-a-Lago.

Thousands of South Florida property owners each year appeal the taxable values that are used to calculate property tax bills, though few of those appeals are successful.

Just six days after Trump took office, his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter lost a tax assessment appeal. But Trump’s ongoing lawsuit against Palm Beach County over the golf club’s tax bill could still end up winning him a refund, if he prevails.

Trump’s property tax dispute in Miami-Dade County centers on the Trump National Doral — a 643-room resort and spa that features the famed Blue Monster golf course.

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser estimates that Trump’s Doral golf resort in 2016 had a taxable value of nearly $112 million, up from about $98 million the prior year.

Comparisons to resorts similar in size and value to Doral as well as the land values of nearby properties factored into the assessment, according to the property appraiser’s office.

The estimated values used to set the assessment were “conservative” for what is a “well-known, luxurious resort,” the county argued at Thursday’s hearing.

Trump’s representative, Appel, countered that the county appraiser overestimated factors such as the resort’s room rate revenues. He said some rooms weren’t available during 2016 because of renovations, which can affect their value.

Appel also questioned the potential value of selling off portions of Doral’s land, saying parting with property would affect resort operations.

Appel during the hearing didn’t mention the president by name, instead referring to the “taxpayer” responsible for Doral’s property taxes. He declined to comment after the hearing.

The independent magistrate who heard the case Thursday now decides whether to lower or stick with the county’s assessment for Doral. If either side objects to the magistrate’s decision, they can go to court.

Doral’s tax bill for 2016 has already been paid in full. So if the magistrate sides with Trump, Doral could be getting a refund — depending on how much the assessment changes.

Every taxpayer, including the president, has a right to challenge their property tax assessments, tax consultant Sheila Anderson said. She has handled tax assessment appeals across the state for 25 years.

“It’s a protection of the property owner,” Anderson said about the appeals.

“Ownership is not a condition of valuation . ... That would be discrimination.”