Donald Trump Acknowledges Not Paying Federal Income Taxes for Years

Great work if you can get it, right?

Inherit a (*)(*)(*)(*) ton of money and your daddy's company, run a series of businesses into the ground, pay back debtors pennies on the dollar, stiff contractors wherever you can, and then take a massive loss to avoid paying personal income taxes of a couple of decades.

I mean, anyone that asserts the rich do not make the rules is not in the same tax bracket as Donald.

Admitting what thinking folks assumed for the last several weeks, in the course of derailing all discussions into ISIS and how much Hillary has "bad judgement", Trump did seem to grudgingly admit he has paid no personal income taxes for all of those years he made all of that money. Alleged money, as we don;t really know if that is all true or not.


Just like you and I, right?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/10/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html?_r=0

Donald J. Trump explicitly acknowledged for the first time during Sunday’s debate that he used a $916 million loss that he reported on his 1995 income tax returns to avoid paying personal federal income taxes for years.

Mr. Trump’s response — “Of course I do. Of course I do” — was the fullest the wealthy developer had provided since The New York Times reported that he had declared the loss, and that the tax deduction could have been large enough to allow him to avoid federal income taxes for up to 18 years.

Previously he had declined to comment on the documents, issuing a statement that neither challenged nor confirmed the $916 million loss.

Asked directly during the debate if he would say how many years he had avoided paying federal income taxes, Mr. Trump responded, “No.”

me time, he asserted that he paid “hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes,” calling it a “simple” thing. “I pay tax, and I pay federal tax, too,” he said.

Unless Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, releases his tax records, it is impossible to determine exactly how he has handled his taxes and what he has paid over the years. If he does not make his taxes public, he will be the first major-party presidential candidate in four decades not to do so.

Though the issue has been overshadowed in recent days by a recording of Mr. Trump’s lewd comments about women, his refusal to release his tax returns — and the possibility that he had not paid federal income taxes for years — has emerged as a central issue in the campaign.

During the debate, Mr. Trump appeared to shed some light on his approach to taxes, saying that he knew more about the tax code than any other presidential candidate in history.



“I have a write-off. A lot of it is depreciation, which is a wonderful charge,” he said. “I love depreciation.”

But as Mr. Trump explained his own tax situation, he tried to make the case that his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, was among those responsible for the tax code that enabled him to get benefits.

“She has given it to us,” he said.

Mr. Trump also went on to invoke Mrs. Clinton’s wealthy allies. “Many of her friends took bigger deductions,” he said. “Warren Buffett took a massive deduction.”

Mrs. Clinton, though, contended that Mr. Trump provided an example of what needed to change in the tax code — saying he was among the people who “paid zero in taxes, zero for our vets, zero for our military, zero for health and education. That is wrong.”


She proposed a tax on people who make more than $5 million, calling it the “Buffett rule.”

In Mr. Trump’s case, what is clear is that he derived remarkable tax benefits from the financial ruin he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his ill-fated foray into the airline business and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.

“Simply put, the organization is in dire financial straits,” New Jersey casino regulators concluded after reviewing his business balance sheet woes in 1990.

The 1995 tax documents, which were anonymously mailed to a New York Times reporter, were the first page of a New York State resident income tax return, the first page of a New Jersey nonresident tax return and the first page of a Connecticut nonresident tax return. They did not include any pages from Mr. Trump’s 1995 federal return.

Mr. Trump was correct when he said he benefited from a provision that had been used by other wealthy families.


Known as net operating loss, it allows an array of deductions, business expenses, real estate depreciation, losses from the sale of business assets and even operating losses to flow from the balance sheets of those partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations onto the personal tax returns of people like Mr. Trump. In turn, those losses can be used to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income.

With a $916 million net operating loss in 1995, Mr. Trump could have avoided paying more than $50 million a year in taxable income over 18 years.

Mr. Trump appears to have embraced other elements of the tax code.

In 1991, he lobbied federal lawmakers to relax tax rules that he claimed had strangled the real estate industry. And in less than two years, as part of a wide-ranging budget deal, Congress passed a set of provisions sought by developers that could have helped Mr. Trump avoid large tax bills linked to his enormous debt racked up by the early 1990s, while also allowing him to spin other real estate losses into valuable offsets on his future earnings in licensing, television and other ventures.

One provision allowed real estate investors with highly leveraged properties to accept forgiveness of their bank loans without paying taxes on the money, in exchange for giving up other tax benefits. Another allowed them to apply some real estate losses against other kinds of inco

 

So following the tax code is a bad thing?

 

I'll post this for a fourth time, since I've received no replies the first three times.

If you're eligible for the child tax credit, and you don't take it, you're a moron. If you're eligible for taking ANY tax deductions, and you don't take them, you're a moron. I wouldn't want you managing the federal budget.

 

And I'll post again how Clinton took advantage of the same deduction Trump did but for less money.

 

What kind of IDIOT would NOT take ALL the legal tax deductions available to him? Would we want that kind of IDIOT as president? What kind of IDIOT would attack people for handling their taxes in the most advantageous way legally possible? Do we want that kind of IDIOT as president?

I didn't think so.

 

The question is did he actually have a billion dollars in losses or was that just a made up number to avoid paying taxes? Should be illegal... and if it's not, it's shady af. Now the dude is 70 years old trying to claim the system is rigged and he'll help stop it. (*)(*)(*)(*)!!! Hahaha, the dude is real life sleaze.

 

Perhaps the slogan "No Taxation Without Representation" should be changed to No Representation Without Taxation

 

It's amazing the opportunity Trump has here. He can show his taxes and illustrate to the world how broken the system is and how he plans to fix it. Who couldn't get behind that?

His ego prevents him from doing just that. My guess is his taxes do not reflect very well on his business acumen, which he has made a central part of his campaign.

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It's a lose/lose for Trump. If he cheated the system and didn't really lose that money, he a criminal. If he did lose all that money in an up economy, he's a terrible businessman. It's easy to understand why he doesn't want his taxes released, he's either a criminal or a fraud.

 

Statists demand and glorify the horribly complex tax code. They brush off any attempt at changing it or simplifying it out of some nebulous fear. Then, when the code gets used the way politicians intended it to be used, they are SHOCKED. Just SHOCKED.

Statism really is a religion.

Do you know who trains CPAs and enrolled agents to maximize tax avoidance?

 

When one is claiming that the system is rigged against the average guy and yet they are part of the system and problem, it is profoundly hypocritical to declare one's patriotism and how one will make the country "GREAT AGAIN" when for years one has refused to contribute to its infrastructure, military and education systems. Manufacturing your own line of rags utilizing cheap offshore labor does not help one's cause either. You must know that because if Obama or Hillary had refused to release their tax returns during presidential elections or produced merchandise offshore, the right would be tying themselves in knots to make certain that it would be a constant loop 24/7 news cycle fodder. The lack of integrity on the right is (*)(*)(*)(*)ing astonishing! It's no wonder the party is going down and will have this albatross of the reality show style Trump presidential nomination around their neck for a long time to come. They spent 20 some add years on a mission to take Hillary down and could not even come up with a viable candidate to do so. What a pathetic bunch!

 

Using existing tax deductions is hardly "not contributing" but keep trying to correct the record ~

Outside out enriching themselves what the (*)(*)(*)(*) have the Clintons or the Obamas ever made?

You complain about offshoring but the forget who Hilary worked for?

Remember Hilary's short lived "People's Champion"... I guess even she figured out even the lemmings wouldnt buy that one.

 

So in todays world, following the law, (Trump taxes) is a bad thing...while breaking it and lying about it (Hillarys email) seems to be A-ok.


Nice place you have here Liberals.

 

I don't think the main reaction of Americans is that it was wrong for him to take the deduction. Of course, we all take the deductions that are available to us. Rather, it is the fact that the wealthiest have tax deductions that are not available to other Americans, particularly the middle class. Middle class small business owners have caps on how much capital loss they can claim, but the wealthy seem to have no cap on the operating loss they can claim. Thus, Trump can claim a billion dollar loss and spread that loss over many, many years. In taking such a large loss, the tax obligations, that Trump would otherwise have, are heaped on the backs of other tax payers, mostly the middle class. In other words, when he wins, he wins big… for himself. But, when he loses, we pay for his ability to gamble big and lose. It's also no secret, as admitted by Trump himself, that the wealthy use their money as influence to get the tax laws that favor them, over other tax payers.

This revelation, on top of the Romney's 15% tax rate discovered in the last election, puts a sour taste in the mouths of those that work hard, pay their taxes, don't try to game the system, and pay a higher rate while making significant less money. It has every appearance of being unfair.

 

Thank you for confirming the right wing lack of integrity by still refusing to admit that Trump is a lying hypocrite extraordinaire. You really need to know when to fold 'em...lol

 

Thank you for yet again when out of talking points trying to make it personal.

Has the IRS confirmed or denied the audits existence yet? Or did i miss them pleading the 5th again perhaps?

 

I rest my case.....Yes, HillBill likely broke the law somewhere, but unless she is charged, found guilty, and sentenced this country does not place her in jail regardless of what your fearful leader threatens. By the way, I am one of those "Most Americans" and do not think as you imagine, nor am I a Hillary Democrat...I'm simply not a TrumpHumper.
Your glass house analogy is almost funny if not so pathetically sad that you even made it and depending on Wiki to give Trump a chance is simply stupid. Just wait until the apprentice tapes hit the news.

 

So you are blaming those that did not create the tax laws but are subject to them. Ain't you a piece of work.

 

Look at all the deflection threads by the poor, beat up liberals. My goodness, I've never seen a liberal so outraged about a person using the tax code. Wasn't it Charlie Rangle who flat out cheated the IRS? You really don't get it? Really? Trump took every tax loop hole that was legally available to him. Oh..and by the way..Hillary would be in jail.

 

Are you referring to Rangel? If so I have a plethora of posts where I attack him.

 

You can't claim a loss without a loss. It spreads out over years because depreciation occurs over years. As many times as he's been audited, I would expect to see foul play by now.

 

Yes, you're right about having to have a loss to claim it, but that wasn't really the point of my post. I'm not even claiming foul on it. What he did was perfectly legal. That the tax code allows it is unethical, IMO, and deductions like this are only geared for the very wealthy. I wouldn't even mind giving businesses a deduction for an operating or capital loss, if that was capped like capital losses are for small businesses. However, to gamble a billion dollars away on a business venture and letting all the other tax payers cover it just seems unfair.

In Trump's case, he also sold shares in his business to get out from under debt that he was personally liable to cover, let those shareholders lose, took the deduction for the operating loss, and passed his tax obligations on to every other tax payer. There's even some question of whether it was a real loss or a paper one.

If you see this as fair, then we will just have to agree to disagree.

 

No, they're not only geared for the wealthy. Any small business owner with capital equipment can claim depreciation, and they all do it, or they shouldn't be in business.

It's fair, because without entrepreneurs taking risks there are no rewards. Every day, I decide on risks vs. reward, whether it's advertising or buying inventory or equipment, etc.

Yes, the tax code is unfair. That's because of who we've allowed to write it, and how they pick winners and losers mostly on a political basis rather than fairness. It's not just written for the poor or wealthy. It benefits certain segments of the economy and punishes other segments. If your party is in power, the industries you like will get tax breaks. The industries you're opposed to will get punished. So, it goes far beyond class warfare.

 

Trump didn't do anything wrong by following the tax code. Everyone is entitled to utilize the tax code to their advantage. OTOH, it does serve as a perfect demonstration of how screwed up the tax code is, when somebody can earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year and not pay any federal income tax.


But what he did do something incredibly unethical and immoral by foisting nearly 1 billion in personally guaranteed debt onto his public company while he was systematically looting it, thereby ensuring that he would not go down personally when he bankrupted his casinos. Even that isn't necessarily a crime, but it does show his psychopathy and greed.

Funny how that makes him a "genius" business man in the eyes of some.

 

If everything he did was legal then he would be stupid not to do it. It appears that you should be more disappointed with the law then with Trump. You might just be pointing out something that Trump says, our legislators are stupid. BTW, this would've been done by accountants and not by Trump himself.

 

You have seen his complete 1995 taxes? Where? If not how can you make the above claims?