Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today mocked former President Donald J. Trump for his three casino bankruptcies but failed to mention the $25 million tax break he gave the former President.
“How stupid do you have to be to lose money in the casino business? 3 casinos + 3 bankruptcies = Trump is a loser. Thought the House always wins… guess not for Trump because he always loses,” Christie tweeted.
Maybe as stupid as a stupid New Jersey governor letting a stupid bankrupt casino owner get away with not paying $25 million in taxes?
Trump had owed the state of New Jersey $30 million in casino tax debt. When Christie became governor, he settled with Trump for $5 million, leaving New Jersey with $25 million in tax revenue that went uncollected.
When Chris Christie was elected governor, Trump realized he know had an ace in his pocket when it came to playing his hand against the state in court.
“By the time Chris Christie became governor of New Jersey, the state’s auditors and lawyers had been battling for several years to collect long-overdue taxes owed by the casinos founded by his friend Donald J. Trump,” The New York Times reported in 2017. “The total, with interest, had grown to almost $30 million. The state had doggedly pursued the matter through two of the casinos’ bankruptcy cases and even accused the company led by Mr. Trump of filing false reports with state casino regulators about the amount of taxes it had paid.”
In the end, Christie’s administration accepted a settlement offer that allowed Trump to pay just 17 cents on the dollar.
“Tax authorities sometimes settle for lesser amounts to avoid the costs and risks of further litigation, legal experts said, but the steep discount granted to the Trump casinos and the relationship between the two men raise inevitable questions about special treatment,” the NY Times reported.