Talk show host Trevor Noah called out former President Donald Trump, saying he benefited from New Jersey's "serial killer" tax law after it emerged that he had likely buried his ex-wife Ivana Trump on his golf course for the tax breaks.
Speaking on The Daily Show, the incredulous Noah said that "All this tax break does is incentivize you to be a weirdo" before launching into a more pointed criticism of the tax dodge.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Noah said:
“Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow."
" A lot of people say, ‘I’ll pay taxes over my dead body.’ Trump means it ― for someone else’s body.”
“All this tax break does is incentivize you to be a weirdo. Who came up with this?"
"It almost feels like the law was written by a serial killer. Just like: ‘There should be a law that if you bury a body in your yard, you don’t have to pay taxes anymore'.”
Many concurred with Noah's assessment and offered their own criticisms of the Trump family following the segment.
Ivana Trump died of blunt impact injuries following a fall down a flight of stairs in her Manhattan home late last month. Donald Trump had her buried at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey.
After news outlets like Insider reported the New Jersey state tax code states any land dedicated to cemetery purposes is exempt from all taxes, rates and assessments, people wondered if Trump family businesses stood to financially benefit from her final resting place.
In fact, per the tax code, burying the ex-Mrs. Trump on the grounds of the golf course would make the business exempt from property, income and sales taxes.
The tax code also states cemetery companies are also exempt from real estate taxes, rates, and assessments or personal property taxes on their lands.
But it goes even further, exempting them from business taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, and inheritance taxes.
Trump had long considered constructing a mausoleum on the property. An NPR report from 2012 noted the proposal, which was later expanded to include a cemetery of more than 1,000 graves, had received considerable pushback from local residents.
