CHICAGO – An Illinois tax agency has ruled that former President Donald Trump is entitled to a $ 1 million refund on the 2011 tax bill for his downtown Chicago skyscraper, but local officials are trying to block the refund.
The Cook County Board of Review’s estimate of the value of rooms and retail space at the Trump International Hotel & Tower is controversial, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. In June, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board voted 5-0 to downgrade the building’s commercial property.
RELATED: President Trump canceled $ 270 million in debt after failing to repay lenders for Trump Tower Chicago, tax records reveal, the New York Times reports
The vote means Trump owes $ 1.03 million, monies that would come from Chicago city property taxes, Chicago Public Schools, and several other government agencies. Cook state attorney is denying the refund and has filed a lawsuit in the Illinois Court of Appeals in hopes of blocking it.
The dispute is the latest chapter in a longstanding legal battle over Trump’s tax laws that began more than 12 years ago and has resulted in more than $ 14 million in tax breaks for Trump. It’s also not just about a former president in the midst of a host of legal disputes, but also a Chicago city council whose own legal troubles have made headlines in Chicago for months.
Alderman Edward M. Burke, whose former law firm Klafter & Burke won the tax break for Trump, has been charged with federal charges of preventing companies from getting city permits unless they hired the law firm. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
RELATED: New York Trump Financial Inquiry Adds Millions Loaned For The Chicago Skyscraper
The dispute over the tax assessments for the high-rise building has its own long history. Originally, the state agency rejected Trump’s argument that the vacant stores had no value because he couldn’t find tenants to rent them out. A state agency hearing officer dismissed Trump’s argument that the vacant shops in the building were of no value because he couldn’t rent them out. But a staff member later wrote a report that Trump was entitled to the refund.
The agency delayed processing the case until Trump was no longer in office and voted in June to downgrade the building’s commercial property rating.
The video shown is from an earlier report.
Copyright © 2021 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.