Moskowitz calls to increase Mar-a-Lago property taxes after Trump claims it's worth $1.8B
WEST PALM BEACH — A Florida congressman is formally asking the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser to increase taxation on Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate after the former president claimed it was worth nearly 100 times more than what it was cited in his civil fraud case.
On Thursday, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Parkland) sent a letter to the appraiser following Trump's comments that Mar-a-Lago was worth about $1.8 billion while Judge Arthur Engoron cited that the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser actually valued the property to be between $18 million and $28 million, depending on the year between 2011 to 2021. In 2020, the county valued Mar-a-Lago at $27 million.
In the letter addressed to Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks, Moskowitz cited Engoron's ruling and Trump's Truth Social post that claimed Mar-a-Lago was in fact worth "100 times" the amount the judge ruled in the former president's civil fraud case.
Moskowitz also shared a tweet from Trump's son Eric, who echoed the former president's comments.
"If the property value of Mar-a-Lago is so much higher than it was appraised, will you be amending the property value in line with the Trump family's belief that their property is worth well over a billion dollars?" the congressman asked in his letter.
On Sept. 26, ahead of the trial, Engoron — who presided over the case — found as fact that Trump and his company are liable for fraud, for overvaluing properties by hundreds of millions of dollars, and misrepresenting the former president's worth by billions, all while pursuing bank loans.
Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties are at the center of a $250 million civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The upcoming trial will now focus on other allegations in the lawsuit relating to the falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy.
