A sociology professor at Dartmouth College is bitching because Trump buried his ex-wife on the golf course he owns in New Jersey. She claims the internment qualifies the property for all sorts of tax breaks that will benefit Trump. I could just quote Daniel Patrick Moynihan and leave at that, but….
Dartmouth sociology professor Brooke Harrington, who brands herself a tax researcher, tweeted: ‘I was skeptical of rumors Trump buried his ex-wife in that sad little plot of dirt on his Bedminster, NJ golf course just for tax breaks.’
She concluded: ‘So I checked the NJ tax code & folks…it’s a trifecta of tax avoidance. Property, income & sales tax, all eliminated.’
Harrington later tweeted that there no stipulation on the amount of human remains necessary in order to qualify for the break.
Dartmouth Professor Brooke Harrington
If the above quote is representative of the quality of her research, then I suspect that Harrington’s PhD thesis was written in crayon.
I’m lazy so refer to Wikipedia the lazy man’s reference. The golf course has existed in one form or fashion since before Trump acquired it. The set aside for cemetery plots has been in place since at least 2015. The estate that makes up the golf course was a farm and had an agricultural tax exemption. That exemption continued under Trump’s ownership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_National_Golf_Club_Bedminster
Consider the fact that tax status and designation of cemetery plots is not a unilateral decision. The landowner has to apply for such status and the local government entity must approve it. Trump made the application and local authorities went along with it. Was it a good deal? I don’t know, but Trump didn’t do it on his own.
There is another consideration.
We have all heard of grieving family members making daily visits to a loved one’s grave. I suspect the reality, for most of us, is a visit once and a while.
My understanding is that Trump set aside the acreage for a family plot. Cemetery plots are now available to members of the Bedminster Golf Club. Consider the implications. Ivana is buried near the first tee. Trump is an avid golfer. Each time Trump steps onto the tee box, there Ivana is. Chances are he will visit her more often now than he ever did after the divorce.
The henpecked golf husband can now visit his departed buddy, “old Charlie”, without apology. I can hear it now, “I’m going to visit old Charlie’s grave.” Sounds like a twofer to me.
Then there is the classic: A golfer and his buddies were playing a big round of golf for $200.
At the eighteenth green the golfer had a ten foot putt to win the round, and the $200. As he was lining up his putt, a funeral procession started to pass by. The golfer set down his putter, took his hat off, placed it over his chest, and waited for the funeral procession to pass. After it passed, he picked up his putter and returned to lining up his putt, and completed it, thus winning the game and the money.
Afterwards, one of his buddies said, “That was the most touching thing I have ever seen. I can’t believe you stopped playing, possibly losing your concentration, to pay your respects.”
“Well,” said the golfer, “we were married for 25 years.”
Read more on page: http://www.jokesoftheday.net/joke–The-golfer-and-the-funeral-/201606059
