Former US President Donald Trump has buried his ex-wife Ivana at his golf course in New Jersey. According to a professor, this saves him taxes. And: A few years ago, Trump wanted to offer graves on the golf course for sale.
Ivana Trump, ex-wife of the former US President, was buried on July 20 at Trump’s golf course. She died suddenly at the age of 73 after falling down the stairs of her New York apartment.
At the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the grave makes a rather desolate impression: near the first hole on the golf course, only a gravestone and a small white bouquet of flowers are intended to commemorate the Republican’s ex-wife.
However, the former US President could benefit from the unusual burial place for tax purposes. At least that’s what the “Business Insider” claims with reference to a loophole in the tax law of the US state of New Jersey – just like the sociology professor Brooke Harrington from the renowned Dartmouth College.
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She tweeted a picture of the grave, saying, “I was wary of rumors that Trump buried his ex-wife in this sad little piece of dirt on his Bedminster, NJ golf course just for tax breaks.”
A look at the tax book of the US state of New Jersey taught her otherwise. In fact, savings are earmarked for land on which human remains are buried. “It’s a triad of tax avoidance. Property, income and sales taxes, all eliminated,” writes Harrington.
Thanks to Ivana Trump’s grave, the golf club can now also identify itself as a cemetery. According to the expert, how many human remains are needed to define an area as such is not precisely defined. To back up her claims, she shared a screenshot of New Jersey state law.
It’s not the first time a cemetery on Trump’s golf course has been discussed. In 2007, the ex-US President is said to have already suggested building a family mausoleum on the property. In 2014, the Trump Organization finally received approval for ten burial sites on the golf club’s grounds.
Trump later amended the proposal to create a 284-slot cemetery where grave plots would be offered for sale. The “Washington Post” reported at the time that interested parties could complete a “perpetual membership” in the golf club.
Robert Holtaway, a Bedminster city official, could not explain exactly what the cemetery considerations were all about. He told the Guardian: “It never made sense to me. But we don’t question the motives either.”
Ultimately, the golf course also has a very personal meaning for Trump. According to a Washington Post report, he chose the property as his own final resting place back in 2017.
It was his “favorite property”: “This is such a beautiful country and Bedminster is one of the richest places in the country,” he told Page Six. Donald Trump has not yet commented on the tax allegations. However, it would not be the first time that he has tried unusual tricks to avoid having to pay taxes.
In order to classify the golf course as agricultural land, it was historically home to a herd of goats on the property, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Trump is said to have saved more than $80,000 this way.