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 Chicago Sun-Times reports that it is the Cook County’s Board of Review’s estimate of the value of the rooms and retail space at the Trump International Hotel & Tower. In June, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board voted 5-0 to downgrade the building’s commercial property.
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. The 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 issues 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 firm. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
The dispute over the tax assessments for the skyscraper has a long history of its own. Originally, the state agency rejected Trump’s argument that the vacant stores were of 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.