Trump’s NJ golf club gets a huge tax break because … it’s an animal farm?

BEDMINSTER — Former President Donald Trump benefits from a generous tax break for a part of his Trump National Golf Club in Somerset County. And it’s because the property doubles as a farm complete with a heard of goats, the Morristown Daily Record reports.

A state law, Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, is what makes the tax break possible. It was enacted to provide tax relief to struggling farms that were victims of surging land values at the time.

Six decades after passage, around 35,000 landowners enroll some part of their properties in the program that can slash a real estate tax bill by as much as 98%. But for a long time, critics argued the bill’s provisions could allow for wealthy suburban landowners who contribute nothing substantive to agriculture to reap the benefits. Trump National appears to be that fear come to life.

The Daily Record obtained a copy of the 2024 farm assessment form submitted by Trump National to the Bedminster tax assessor. In it, the club identified 183 acres that are listed as farmland: 113 are where the club says it grows hay and the other 70 are included as protected wetlands or woodlands. A dozen goats are also claimed by the club, the report says.

For 2024, those 183 acres are taxed $1,168, or just $6.38 an acre. For a comparison, the 320 acres of standard commercial property are taxed $450,000 at $1,046 an acre, which means the club shells out almost as much in taxes per conventional acre than it does for all of its farmland.

All told, Trump National saves $257,000 thanks to the tax break on the farmland, which is less money that the $350,000 it costs one member to join the golf club, the report notes.

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