Donald Trump Goes to Battle With Washington, DC, Over New Hotel

WASHINGTON, DC — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is no stranger to litigation, and his lawyers are in the midst of a big legal battle with the city of Washington, D.C., over how much he'll have to pay in taxes for his new hotel at the Old Post Office Building, which will open in September — a sign of just how much his relationship with D.C. has deteriorated in the past year.

In a motion the city submitted Monday that was posted online by Politico.com, lawyers are arguing that Trump's several June challenges of tax assessments were brought both too late and too soon, and that he indeed owes $1.7 million in annual tax bills for development in 2015 and 2016.

Trump's lawyers argue that the tax bill is too high because the hotel was only partially completed and the city didn't use the right methods to calculate the lease value.

Trump and the city of D.C. are very far apart on how much they estimate the value of the lease: Trump's company says it's only worth about $28 million, while the city issued a $91 million assessment, prompting appeals from Trump, according to Politico.

Not surprisingly, Trump's move to open a new hotel just blocks from the White House has not been without drama in this volatile election season. His controversial comments about immigrants prompted two well-known chefs, Jose Andres and Geoffrey Zakarian, to back out of opening restaurants at the hotel. Naturally, Trump sued them, too.

Initially welcomed as a jobs creator in D.C., Trump's hotel has become a soft battleground of sorts due to his ascendancy to the top of the Republican ticket this year. His controversial stances have resulted in a decidedly cool relationship between him and the heavily Democratic city of D.C. that is sure to heavily vote for his opponent, Hillary Clinton, this November.

The Trump International Hotel Washington D.C. opens Sept. 12.

Image via Wikimedia