Several weeks ago, I watched an MSNBC segment about Donald Trump’s nefarious tax schemes, money laundering operations and shady “investors,” specifically with regards to his golf clubs. Trump loves his golf clubs and he’s spent a lot of time, money and effort to keep and maintain his clubs. His club in Bedminster, New Jersey is one of his favorites and it’s also one of his most compromised properties. Trump is apparently always looking for a scheme to keep Bedminster profitable. Which apparently includes using the golf club as a cemetery. Donald Trump and his three oldest children decided to bury Ivana Trump in a pauper’s grave at the Bedminster golf club:
Ivana Trump’s burial plot is on a seemingly deserted lot on Trump’s golf course 😳 pic.twitter.com/Sw98o1HULV
— LeGate☮️ (founder @ pillow-fight.com) (@williamlegate) July 29, 2022
Just so we’re clear – Ivana’s three children and her ex-husband decided to bury her on the Bedminster golf course so they could get a massive tax break. That’s it.
When Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was buried last month near the first hole of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, few immediately guessed that her grave’s location might also serve her ex-husband’s long-held tax planning purposes.
Tax code in New Jersey exempts cemetery land from all taxes, rates, and assessments – and her grave, as such, potentially has advantageous tax implications for a Trump family trust that owns the golf business, in a state where property and land taxes are notoriously high.
According to documents published by ProPublica, the Trump family trust previously sought to designate a nearby property in Hackettstown, New Jersey, as a non-profit cemetery company. But Ivana Trump, who died earlier this month at 73 after a fall at her home in New York City’s Manhattan, is the first person known to have been buried at the golf course, where Donald Trump and his family spend a lot of time in the summers.
Under New Jersey’s tax code, cemetery companies are not only exempt from real estate taxes, rates, and assessments or personal property taxes, but also business taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, and inheritance taxes, according to Insider.
Brooke Harrington, a professor of sociology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, tweeted on Saturday that she had looked into claims that Ivana Trump’s resting-place might also benefit her ex-husband’s tax planning from beyond the grave.
“As a tax researcher, I was skeptical of rumors Trump buried his ex-wife in that sad little plot of dirt on his Bedminster, NJ golf course just for tax breaks. So I checked the NJ tax code & folks…it’s a trifecta of tax avoidance. Property, income & sales tax, all eliminated,” Harrington wrote, after opinions accusing Trump of being primarily motivated by the possibility of a tax break began popping up on social media.
It’s insane. Even if you somehow argue that Ivana’s adult children have the right to bury their mother wherever and however they want, the fact that they just threw her in the ground, tossed some dirt on her and called it a day is SHOCKING. They could have at least organized a small mausoleum? Or an actual grave stone? Insane.
As a tax researcher, I was skeptical of rumors Trump buried his ex-wife in that sad little plot of dirt on his Bedminster, NJ golf course just for tax breaks.
So I checked the NJ tax code & folks…it's a trifecta of tax avoidance. Property, income & sales tax, all eliminated. pic.twitter.com/VDZBlDyuhQ
— Brooke Harrington (@EBHarrington) July 31, 2022
Make America Great Again: Fit and ready to run in 2024. pic.twitter.com/euRSl1ekop
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 29, 2022
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.
167587, Ivana Trump, former wife of Donald Trumo, is seen relaxing on a yacht in Saint Tropez. Saint Tropez, France – Friday July 14, 2017. USA, OZ, NZ, SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN AND CHINA ONLY Photograph: Ã?â??Ã?© CRYSTAL, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 533132196, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: CRYSTAL, PacificCoastNews / Avalon 
IVANA TRUMP ARRIVING AT THE BILLY ELLIOT MUSICAL GALA PERFORMANCE, AT THE VICTORIA PALACE THEATRE, LONDON. 13TH JUNE 2005. PICTURES / IVANA TRUMP,Image: 541621511, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Marc Larkin / Avalon 
The funeral of Ivana Trump at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Featuring: Donald Trump and Melania Trump Where: New York, New York, United States When: 20 Jul 2022 Credit: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
The funeral of Ivana Trump at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Featuring: Donald Trump and Eric Trump Where: New York, New York, United States When: 20 Jul 2022 Credit: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images 
Former President Donald Trump at the 2022 LIV Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 31, 2022. Featuring: Donald Trump Where: Bedminster, New Jersey, United States When: 31 Jul 2022 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images 
Former President Donald Trump at the 2022 LIV Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 31, 2022. Featuring: Donald Trump Where: Bedminster, New Jersey, United States When: 31 Jul 2022 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com/Cover ImagesncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcG9naoN5e8OopZqklJTBs8HMqZabraKesqWryK%2BYp5mPnrugrb6pmK6olafAoLPRmq2el5%2BjrKm10pieqKSWlLCtwcGYnaiqj6muuavBq5yao6Nk