Dole Campaign Press Release - The Real Forbes Tax Plan: Dodging $120,000 in Taxes on His New Jersey Estate

The Associated Press today reveals how Steve Forbes has exploited a New Jersey tax loophole to pay just $2,215 in taxes on his $8.98 million New Jersey estate last year -- dodging more than $ 120,000 in property taxes by pretending that his estate is a struggling family farm.

What does Forbes raise on his estate to qualify for this loophole? "Show cows" -- the ornamental poodle of the bovine world.

"Steve Forbes' rolling estate in New Jersey has 70 cows in the back pasture, enabling the multimillionaire to take advantage of a tax break meant to help struggling family farmers," said the Associated Press.

"Forbes and his wife, Sabina, qualified for a 1964 state law that sharply reduced property taxes for farmers. The couple paid just $ 2,215 in taxes last year on their 449 acres of rolling meadows and pasture land in Bedminster, N.J. records show. Without the break, Forbes' estimated $ 8.9 million property would have been assessed about $ 124,000 in taxes, the town assessor says.

"The law was enacted to help farmers at a time when many were struggling to survive because of diminishing revenues and increasing taxes. It was designed to encourage family farmers to hold onto their fields rather than sell out to developers." (2/9/96)

A few questions voters should ask Steve Forbes:

1. Why has Steve Forbes evaded hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxes on his New Jersey estate?

2. Will Forbes apologize for taking advantage of a tax loophole designed for struggling farmers -- or does he actually consider himself a struggling farmer?

3. Why should an average middle-class family have to pay more in property taxes on their small home than Steve Forbes pays on his $ 9 million estate?

4. Given his documented history of tax evasion, does Forbes pay federal income tax at all? Is that why he refuses to release his tax returns?

The more we learn about Steve Forbes, the more questions we have.

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Robert E. Lighthizer, Treasurer 810 First Street, NE., Suite 360

Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 414-6400