- Ivana Trump is buried near the first hole of the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey.
- New Jersey’s tax code exempts cemeteries from all taxes, rates and assessments.
- Under the law, the burial of a former president’s ex-wife could have tax implications for his golf career.
The location of Ivana Trump’s grave — near the first hole of the golf course at Trump National Golf Club — could have tax implications for businesses owned by the former president.
Tax documents obtained from the Trump Family Trust published by ProPublica show the trust sought to designate a property in Hackettstown, New Jersey, as a nonprofit cemetery company, even though the course itself is 20 miles away in Bedminster.
Ivana Trump, former wife of President Donald Trump, is the first person to be buried at a Trump-owned golf course.
According to the New Jersey State Tax Code, any land dedicated for burial purposes is exempt from all taxes, rates and assessments. Cemetery companies are exempt from paying any real estate tax, value and assessment or personal property tax on their land, as well as business tax, sales tax, income tax and inheritance tax.
In the New Jersey Law Reform Commission, a “cemetery company” is defined as “a person, corporation, association or other entity that owns a cemetery, but does not include a religious organization that owns a cemetery that restricts members of the cemetery. Unless the organization obtains a certificate of authority for the cemetery, religion or their families.”
Trump has planned for at least a decade to build grave differences on the course. In 2010, NPR As reported in 2012, he was building a tomb to bury himself in. He later proposed the creation of a cemetery on the property to house more than 1,000 graves.
The Washington Post reported in 2017 that it would later change the design again, with plans to create a “10-plot private family cemetery” at the same location. Trump has put the proposal to include a 284-plot cemetery for sale.
Ivana Trump She died July 14 at her Upper East Side home after suffering severe head injuries that authorities ruled to be accidental. She was 73 years old.
Representatives for Donald Trump and Trump National Golf Course, Bedminster, did not immediately return an insider’s request for comment.
