President Trump tweeted on Thursday that he loves New York, has always loved New York, but has moved his primary residence to Florida:
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence.
I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse.
I hated having to make this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned. As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart!
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” while New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted, “Good riddance … He’s all yours, Florida.”
President Trump and his wife, Melania, completed the paperwork earlier in the month, indicating that they were moving their permanent residence from Trump Tower where he has lived since the late 1980s to his Mar-a-Lago estate, which he bought and refurbished in 1985.
It makes sense for lots of reasons, most of them tax-related. Since his inauguration, the president has spent just 20 days in Trump Tower, while spending more and more of his time, both personal and professional, at Mar-a-Lago.
There is the issue of Manhattan’s District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.’s quest to hunt down Trump’s tax returns, which has infuriated the president, although it’s unlikely that the move to Florida will keep that case from being eventually heard by the Supreme Court.
But the most persuasive reason has to do with the vast chasm between New York’s tax environment and Florida’s. As the president tweeted back in July, “People are fleeing New York like never before. If they own a business, they are twice as likely to flee. And if they are a victim of harassment by the A.G. of the state, like what they are doing to our great NRA….”
In Florida, Trump will pay no state income taxes, while New York’s noxious tax rates range from four percent to as high as 8.82 percent. In Florida, Trump’s estate will escape New York’s death taxes. While Florida has no estate tax, New York’s estate-tax rate starts at 3.06 percent on up to 16 percent on estates as large as the one Trump is likely to leave when he passes on. New York’s real-estate property taxes are more than 70 -percent higher than Florida’s.
New York is ranked at the very top of states with the highest tax burdens, while Florida is ranked 47th.
In making this move on October 4, Trump joined with 175 others leaving New York and heading for Florida that same day. More than 450,000 people left New York for more favorable environs last year, mostly for the same reasons, so the president and his wife are in good company.
Photo: AP Images
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, writing primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
