hey... I was responding to another post. Trust me... developers don't tell the assessors how much to tax a property at. Slow down, go back, and read the thread.
Yet all the instances of Trump demanding lower tax values for his properties in New York including hiring lawyers to demand lower tax assessments -- while at the exact same time he was telling banks that the properties were worth over 10 times what he demanded the tax assessment value be. Let's just ignore all of these examples over a long period of time. It's one thing to appeal a tax valuation on your home or property to a local government -- many homeowners and property owners do this seeking a lower assessment. In this process the local government reviews the valuation and arrives at a new figure (hopefully lower). What Trump did was totally different -- he demanded that properties be assessed at unreasonable low figures and he provided the "required value" of the assessment -- while at the same time telling banks the property was worth much more. BTW -- the judge's ruling touches on this.
He can demand anything. He can provide anything. The county is gonna do what it see's fit. Unless he bribed them.
Trump did -- multiple times in New York. He demanded of local government entities that his properties be assessed at unreasonably low values and even provided the "required figure". And yes, the the judge's summary touches on this in context that Trump was telling banks at the same time that the properties were worth more than 10x the tax value.
Oh yes, I am pretty sure Trump provided "gifts" to the government officials who supported him. Maybe Michael Cohen or some other lawyer who funneled the gifts will be able to provide more insight.
Let's take a look at what some of Trump's tax tricks involved -- noting that this is part of the fraud. Sometimes he inflated the value of properties to get conservation (and other) tax breaks. Other times he demand properties be assessed at unreasonably low values. N.Y. AG: Trump fraud involved conservation easement tax break https://www.eenews.net/articles/n-y-ag-trump-fraud-involved-conservation-easement-tax-break/ Why Trump’s Alleged Real-Estate Shenanigans Went Too Far You can get away with a lot when appraising property. But not this much. https://slate.com/business/2022/09/trump-lawsuit-real-estate-appraisal-taxes-seven-springs.html
And he was caught talking out of both sides of his mouth. But it's not just the thing itself. It's the magnitude. We're not talking 10-20% here. We're talking multiples. That goes well beyond Trump's "truthful hyperbole" and into fraud territory. Bank fraud. Insurance fraud. And so on.