They’re the owners of some of the priciest real estate in Manhattan — condos in luxe buildings like One57, 15 Central Park West and Trump Tower — and they owe the Big Apple more than $100,000 each in back real estate taxes, city records show.
These millionaires and billionaires are among the 22,629 property owners throughout the city that are delinquent on nearly $800 million in taxes on their home sweet homes, according to the Department of Finance.
That figure is down from the $890 million owed a year ago by some 24,202 property owners.
While working stiffs might have a ready excuse for not paying the tax man — like they just didn’t have the cash — these extraordinary folks have extraordinary excuses for not paying the tax man.
One property owner said he lost track of the tax bill because he was going through a divorce. Another said a year or so of bad investments left him a little short.
Here are the best excuses from the wealthy, but delinquent.
- At Trump International Hotel & Tower, the owner of a European yacht company who paid $2.8 million for his apartment in 2002 owes the city just under $185,000 in back taxes. He’s been delinquent on his 27th floor condo since 2013 and the interest charges keep mounting. The wealthy businessman said he knew the tax bills were piling up but explained that he was “embroiled” in a divorce.
- At 15 Central Park West, one of the most exclusive addresses in Manhattan, the owner of a sprawling four-bedroom unit is on the hook to the city for $165,000 — and over $40,000 in maintenance fees. The woman who owns the unit paid $3.4 million in cash for it back in 2008. It’s now worth about $7.8 million. Her reason for falling a bit behind? Some bad advice on investments left her a little short. The socialite said she was in the process of getting a mortgage and plans to pay off the back taxes. Falling behind in maintenance charges, however, led the condo to amend its bylaws. Now, if you fall behind in common charges you will be barred from using the building’s amenities and won’t be allowed to get food delivered.
- At The Plaza Hotel, where there are condos and hotel rooms, Unit 1609, with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, was purchased in July 2010 for $12.35 million by a European watch company. The owner owes $236,357 in back taxes but may never have been officially told about the tax bill.It seems the city continued to send its tax bills to the seller at the address of Barclay’s private wealth office on the Isle of Jersey, a tax haven. In January, the Finance Dept. changed the address to The Plaza, hoping for better luck. A spokeswoman for the watch company did not return calls by deadline.
- In Trump Tower, a unit on the 39th floor was bought in July 2011 by a company based overseas. The purchase price: $2.85 million. The title was then transferred to a related holding company. Signatures of the owners of the holding company link it to an Indian man and his mother who appear to have had a series of run-ins with officials in other countries.The son spent time in jail in Dubai for his real-estate dealings. They sold the unit last May and pocketed a nifty $900,000 profit. The buyer is based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.The unit owes $17,470 to the Trump Tower board and $191,474 to the city. It is unclear why the liens were not paid off when it was sold.