Democratc gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker might own a mansion, but he only paid taxes on a molehill, a spokesman for the Illinois Republic Party suggested recently.
Steven Yaffe was responding to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times that said Pritzker received more than $230,000 in property tax reductions through various mitigating methods he used in appealing assessments.
The article cited a mansion neighboring Pritzker’s residence in Chicago that he bought for $3.7 million. While Pritzker has refurbished the mansion’s exterior, the assessed value of the home was reduced on appeal because the interior is considered uninhabitable, with no functioning bathrooms or kitchens.
The reduced assessment led to a property tax reduction from approximately $117,000 to less than $19,800. Pritzker also received tax refunds on the property for three years, totaling more than $132,700, the article said.
Pritzker also appealed the assessment of his Chicago residence, resulting in a tax bill reduction from $262,221 to $221,287, based on an assessment he paid a third party to conduct.
“It’s clear that when it comes to gaming the system for tax breaks for billionaires, J.B. Pritzker thinks big. Real big,” Yaffe said. “Pritzker’s insider scheme to dodge taxes is shocking.”
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