INTO THE WOODS

Trump’s $21 Million Tax Break for Preserving Forest at His Mansion Under Investigation

The future president was handed a $21 million tax break in 2016 for promising to save woodlands around his mansion—but how was the figure reached?

Surely Donald Trump didn’t have a hidden motive when he benevolently promised to preserve the beautiful woodland around his luxurious Westchester County mansion? The Washington Post has reported that the deal—which saw the future president handed a $21 million tax break in 2016—is now under investigation to determine whether the Trump Organization improperly inflated the value of the land. New York Attorney General Letitia James has launched the probe. The Post got hold of an appraisal which apparently showed the value was based on assertions and misleading conclusions—which, in turn, boosted the value of his tax break. The Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, Alan Garten, said “the allegations are categorically untrue.” Eric Trump, who now helps run the Trump Organization, sat for a deposition in the case Monday.