Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Scottie Pippen’s tax bill going up on Fort Lauderdale home
After former NBA star Scottie Pippen took the renters of his Fort Lauderdale home to court in December, the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office went after him.
Not because Pippen was suing the renters — comedian Lindsay Glazer Woloshin, nicknamed “the Alphabitch,” and her husband Jacob Woloshin — but because Pippen was renting out the 10,000-square-foot mansion that he has been trying to unload for more than a decade.
Turns out Pippen has been receiving a tax break, called a homestead exemption, on the property. But the tax break is only good if the property is the owner’s primary residence.
By renting the home for the length of time he did, Pippen abandoned his right to the exemption, Property Appraiser Marty Kiar said.
The upshot is Pippen will have to pay about $13,190 more in taxes for 2018 — and a higher tax bill in the future.
Kiar’s office started an investigation after learning of the suit, in which Pippen claimed the renters had trashed his home and caused more than $100,000 in damage.
Pippen’s attorney, Jason Giller, said the loss of the tax break “is not a big deal.” Pippen and his
family have temporarily relocated to California for their children and could reapply for an exemption when they return, Giller said.
“They originally were going to move back,” Giller said. “They may. They’re just out there for the kids.”
The Harbor Beach house has been on the market since September 2007 and has been listed for as high as $16 million. The asking price was reduced to $9.8 million in July.
The loss of the homestead exemption pushed the taxable value on Pippen’s
home from $5 million to $5.6 million.
Kiar said his office won’t be going after Pippen for back taxes from earlier years, because the rental agreement in the court suit only affected the 2018 tax bill. Pippen will be sent a revised tax bill for the year, he said.
“We treat everybody the same, regardless of who they are,” Kiar said.
As of Dec. 14, the appraiser’s office had investigated 10,400 properties for possible fraud, resulting in 4,111 exemption removals and back taxes assessed on 197 properties, Kiar said. The changes added almost $524 million in property value to the tax rolls, he said.
Pippen’s lawsuit said the couple rented the house after their home was damaged by Hurricane Irma.
Pippen claims the agreement called for them to keep the property in “pristine” condition, but said the couple allowed their pets to “urinate on furniture, linens, beds, floors, carpets and basically anything else they chose.” Also damaged, according to the suit, was the front gate, the home entertainment system and countless cabinets and drawers. Glazer has said in a statement her family is not responsible for the damage.