NFL vet Runyan uses donkeys to get tax break

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.(AP) — Congressional candidate and veteran NFL
lineman Jon Runyan has taken advantage of a property tax break
in New Jersey by selling firewood and grazing donkeys.

Runyan is retiring after playing this season with the San Diego
Chargers to seek the Republican nomination for New Jersey’s 3rd
District House seat now held by first-term Democrat John Adler.
It’s expected to be a competitive race in a district
historically controlled by Republicans.

Runyan’s tax break is legal and not uncommon, though the
policies that allow it are often criticized in New Jersey
because they can lower tax bills for wealthy landowners who
don’t make their living in agriculture.

Runyan owns a 25-acre spread in Mount Laurel and, on the 5 acres
around his house, his tax bill last year was $57,000. On the
other 20 acres, it was $468 because he gets a break for
registering it as farmland.

Tax records show he uses five acres for four donkeys and 15 for
timber. Last year, he harvested seven cords, selling them for
$810.

Runyan’s campaign manager says Runyan sees himself as a steward
of the land.

“Only in New Jersey politics could Jon and his wife be attacked
for paying nearly $60,000 per year in property taxes and
following the law that’s on the books,” campaign manager Chris
Russell said.