goat herd is helping Trump pay tens of thousands of $$ less in property taxes on NJ golf properties

[riversedge]

It is an older article but good review.

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A goat herd is helping Trump pay tens of thousands of dollars less in property taxes on his New Jersey properties

https://www.businessinsider.com/goats-helping-trump-pay-less-taxes-new-jersey-2018-8


Pat Ralph
Aug 11, 2018, 1:51 PM
Trump Goats bedminister Trump Goats bedminister

President Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, keeps goats on the property as a way to qualify for a tax break for farms. Getty; iStock; Skye Gould/Business Insider

A goat herd is helping President Donald Trump pay thousands of dollars less in property taxes on his New Jersey properties, thanks to a state law designed to benefit farmers.
The Wall Street Journal estimated in 2016 that Trump paid less than $1,000 a year in property taxes on land that would typically require roughly $80,000.

President Donald Trump is able to pay tens of thousands of dollars less in property taxes on his New Jersey golf courses because of a goat herd, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Citing public records, The Journal reported in 2016 that Trump had been able to save thousands of dollars in property taxes on his two properties in Bedminster — where he is this week for a "working vacation" — and Colts Neck. Because the properties have a goat herd, as well as hay farming and woodcutting, New Jersey law permits them to receive a farmland tax break.

Therefore, Trump pays reduced property taxes on the parts of his golf courses dedicated to farming, the report says.

Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster maintains 113 acres of hay farming and eight goats, and the property in Colts Neck has 40 acres of hay production and trees, The Journal reported, citing tax-break applications reviewed in 2016 during the presidential campaign............................................

[Kurt V.]

1. Developers do this all the time. plant crops on a parcel that will never be harvested.

I've seen that myself. how did we let this happen?

[JDC]

2. Happens all the time. All over the country.

Not excusing it.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Was Going To Say Exact Same Thing

However, I'm a bit baffled how the goats & hay lower the taxes by 98.8%.
Here in IL, some golf courses leave 5% of the land in natural prairie or wetland state. Say 5 or 6 of the 100-120 acres.
This lowers the tax base on those reserved acres to 5 or 10%. But, 92.5% of 5% is only a 4.6% tax abatement.
Something odd about New Jersey's tax law for this huge a discount.

[Mariana]

5. We used to see it in rich neighborhoods when we lived in Texas.

Huge McMansions, with one cow somewhere in the yard. They paid a few hundred in property tax, rather than the thousands they would be assessed as an ordinary residential property.

[EndlessWire]

4. I have goats.

I have two pygmy goats, bought for the purpose of controlling weeds. They are excellent, inasmuch as they eat constantly, eat almost anything, and are easy keepers. I feed them one meal of commercial goat chow, and then they eat weeds all day. They do drink a lot of water, more than you would think.


My goats were kenneled until they were older. I fed them goat rations and kept them full of nutrition. Now they are fully free range. They have been brought in line by my husky mix female, boss of the yard, and they follow her around with my other dog. Goats are herd animals, and it's funny to see the four animals together, sometimes walking in a line. One day I was standing at the sink in the kitchen, and first one goat, then the next, then a dog, then another dog went strolling by. I wondered where they were going and almost checked it out, but then I decided I needn't be the last animal in line...Sometime this year I will probably get two more babies.

I got my goats as a last ditch effort to control the weeds which grow amazingly quick after rain. My goats are invaluable for the purpose. Their droppings are like rabbit pellets and disappear quickly. My goats are sweet, inoffensive, come when they're called, and very amusing.

I loathe Trump, but a goat herd to control weeds is not particularly offensive. Don't know anything about the tax situation. Love my goats.

[kskiska]

6. The Reagan Library has goats.

Actually, that's part of the reason it wasn't consumed by the wildfires. It created a firebreak.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hungry-goats-helped-save-reagan-library-california-wildfire-180973461/

[lame54]

7. Imagine how poorly they are treated...