Florida House candidates spar over Robinson Preserve acquisition. Was it a donation?
A local environmentalist running for the Florida House says the Robinson family of Bradenton took advantage of IRS loopholes when they sold land to Manatee County that is now Robinson Preserve, but county officials call it a win-win situation.
Andy Mele, who is running as a Democrat against state Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton, is raising doubts about the 2007 transaction with Manatee County Government. Based on IRS rules, the Robinson family was able to claim millions of dollars in tax deductions.
“They didn’t donate much of the land. They profited massively through tax breaks and retail purchase of the land,” Mele said in an interview with the Bradenton Herald. “There was no altruism here — just a straight-up real estate buy.”
When the county purchased the 480-acre parcel of land for $11 million based on a county appraisal, the Robinson family was able to use a second $17 million land appraisal to file the $6 million difference as a charitable donation with the IRS.
A biography on Robinson’s re-election campaign website notes that ”the Robinson family donated much of the land now known as Robinson Preserve.”
“(Robinson) keeps claiming his family donated ‘much of the land’ for Robinson Preserve and that’s not true,” Mele said. “It’s dishonest and disingenuous.”
But according to Charlie Hunsicker, the county’s director of parks and natural resources, that’s almost always how it works in Manatee County.
“We have never really acquired conservation land for creating environmental preserves through free and clear donation,” Hunsicker said.
Instead, the county negotiates a purchase price closer to its own appraisal. Hunsicker explained that an estate tax write-off is usually “an attractive incentive” for the seller. Similar deals went into the purchase of Ungarelli Preserve, Perico Preserve and Neal Preserve.
Christine Johnson, executive director of the Gulf Coast Conservation Foundation, which purchased the 150-acre Robinson Preserve expansion site in 2011 for $3 million and then donated it to the county, said a tax deduction based on a second appraisal is a matter of property rights.
“That is the landowner’s right,” she explained. “The landowner has every right to get their own appraisal and if it is larger than what they sold it for — by at least 10 percent — then they are allowed to take that as a deduction.”
Reached for comment, Robinson, R-Bradenton, defended the land sale as a donation to the county and accused Mele of running a “toxic campaign.”
“While part of the transaction included a cash portion, the IRS and Manatee County determined it was a donation. More importantly, so did thousands of folks who visit these pristine lands every year,” Robinson said in a statement provided to the Bradenton Herald.
“Mr. Mele should be ashamed of himself. Once again, he has chosen the low road during his toxic campaign,” he added. “While Mr. Mele chooses to campaign in the gutter, I will continue to focus on issues important to the residents of the district I was born in.”
Even if the IRS labeled the sale a donation, federal taxpayers are the ones who had to make up for the $6 million write-off, Mele contested.
“So much of our tax structure favors the rich, and this is just another classic example,” Mele said.
Robinson, who was first elected in 2018, and Mele are running to represent District 71 in the Florida House, which includes Palmetto, Bradenton and Anna Maria Island. The general election is Nov. 3.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
