Native New Yorker President Donald Trump has quietly said farewell to his home state—at least, in terms of his taxes. The NY Times reported on Thursday evening that, back in September, Trump and his wife Melania had "changed [their] primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach, Fla., according to documents filed with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court."
Their "declaration[s] of domicile" noted that their home will be Trump's resort Mar-a-Lago, where the president's staff has run up big bar tabs, which are then passed along to taxpayers. Upon learning the news, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave Trump a quick, unsentimental send-off.
About 20 minutes later, the president confirmed the decision in a tweet, complaining about how badly he's been treated by New York officials, a possible reference to investigations being conducted by Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance.
The NY Times points out, "It was unclear how much time he would spend in New York in the future or if he would keep his triplex at the top of Trump Tower. Under New York law, if he spends more than 184 days a year there, he will have to pay state income taxes. Florida, which does not have a state income tax or inheritance tax, has long been a place for the wealthy to escape the higher taxes of the Northeast."
Trump has only been in New York City for a total of 20 days since becoming president (during his August visit back to NYC, thousands of people chanted, "New York hates you," outside the extremely fortified Trump Tower), but he is expected to return on Saturday to attend an MMA event, UFC 244, at Madison Square Garden. A source told the Post there would be more "stringent" screening, ant "they’re making plans for him to sit in the seats."
Excelsior.
