Thread: Trump Tax Records Reveal He Could Have Avoided Paying Taxes for 2 Decades

Dear John Doe the "Bombshell" New York Times article on Trump is more like a firecracker. Big deal. Trump choose to not pay more taxes than necessary. Gee and we all know that everybody else on planet earth is fighting to pay more taxes than they have to--yah right.
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Originally Posted by 17patri76

Dear John Doe the "Bombshell" New York Times article on Trump is more like a firecracker. Big deal. Trump choose to not pay more taxes than necessary. Gee and we all know that everybody else on planet earth is fighting to pay more taxes than they have to--yah right.
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I didn't write the headline. The newspaper did.

Bombshell report on Trump taxes sends GOP nominee reeling

It puts an exclamation point on what was already one of the worst weeks for any presidential candidate in recent memory.

By ELI STOKOLS
10/01/16 10:48 PM EDT
Updated 10/01/16 11:58 PM EDT


Donald Trump reported a nearly $1 billion loss on his 1995 tax returns, which were obtained by the New York Times. | Getty


It took less than a day for October to produce an "October surprise."

Donald Trump reported a nearly $1 billion loss on his 1995 tax returns and could therefore have avoided paying federal income taxes for almost two decades, the New York Times reported on Saturday, putting another unexpected exclamation point on what had already been one of the worst weeks for any presidential nominee in recent memory.


The Times, which hired tax experts to analyze the records, determined that “tax rules that are especially advantageous to wealthy filers would have allowed Mr. Trump to use his $916 million loss to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over an 18-year period” -- more than $50 million a year.

Times reporter Susanne Craig received the documents, which the paper describes as “three pages from what appeared to be Mr. Trump’s 1995 tax returns,” in the mail from an unknown source. The documents were sent last month and postmarked New York City, with a return address of Trump Tower -- the real estate mogul’s headquarters.

A statement from Trump’s campaign neither confirmed nor denied that he filed a $916 million loss in his 1995 tax returns, but charged that the documents were “illegally obtained” in what it said was “a further demonstration that the New York Times, like establishment media in general, is an extension of the Clinton Campaign, the Democratic Party and their global special interests.”

“Mr. Trump is a highly-skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required,” the statement, which was not attributed to Trump or any staffer by name, continued. “That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes. Mr. Trump knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for President and he is the only one that knows how to fix it.”

Trump’s refusal to release any tax returns, something every presidential nominee since Richard Nixon in 1972 has done, has been one of the larger clouds hanging over his campaign and one his Democratic opponent has sought to exploit.

It now appears as though the GOP nominee’s failure to come clean has backfired, with the Times drawing one of the same conclusions that Hillary Clinton offered as a possible explanation for Trump’s secrecy in last Monday’s debate — that he has paid little or no federal income tax for some time.

The story, which posted Saturday night just as Trump had taken the stage for a rally in Manheim, Pa., seemed to send the candidate, already reeling from a week that started with a bad debate and continued with a stream of recriminations over his treatment of a former Miss Universe in a 3 a.m. tweetstorm, spiraling at even greater velocity into a political abyss.

After taking the stage 102 minutes after the rally’s scheduled 7 p.m. start time, Trump veered off-script several times, impersonating Clinton’s near fall last month as she was suffering from pneumonia and asserting — after taking credit all week for his restraint in not bringing up Bill Clinton’s sexual improprieties at the debate — that she probably isn’t faithful to her husband anymore because, he said, “Why should she be?”

Trump’s allies, meanwhile, tried to shrug the story off by minimizing the importance of a partial tax return from a single year and characterizing it as just the latest attempt by a liberal media to hurt their candidate.

“The campaign sees this as another contrived story,” said a Republican operative who works with the Trump campaign. “More media carrying the Clintons' water. If people don't like him doing that then they should change the tax laws."

While Trump is unlikely to lose many of his most ardent supporters, polls showed last Monday’s debate cost him dearly. GOP strategists, who had been buoyed by a narrowing of the race in September, have grown increasingly forlorn in the days following the debate, as Trump’s subsequent behavior seemed to underscore Clinton’s charge that he lacks the temperament to be commander in chief. They fear Saturday night’s surprise bombshell might lead voters to question another pillar of his candidacy — his claim to be a successful businessman and an anti-politician who, unlike the insiders he maligns in Washington, tells the truth.

“The confusion over the deductibility of losses over time is more than the average voter cares about. But the continuing debate over his taxes keeps him hoisted up on the petard of transparency,” said Bruce Haynes, a GOP strategist in Washington. “It is not fatal. But the Trump campaign has to find a way to drive a narrative of some substance against Clinton or his long term prospects are grim.”

Even that is unlikely, according to former Democratic National Committee official Mo Elleithee, who said the tax story was a “devastating body blow” that would “haunt him for the next five weeks.”

“The fundamental argument of his campaign,” Elleithee said, “is the little guy is getting screwed and I’m the guy who’s going to look after you. It is hard to make that argument when there is evidence now in front of everybody about how he has benefited personally, how he has gamed the system.”

Democrats have seized on the Times story, with the DNC blasting it out to its email list and officials from coast to coast tripping over themselves to provide comment.

Rick Palacio, the Democratic Party chairman of Colorado, where Clinton’s lead had shrunk in recent weeks, called the story “mind-boggling."

“I don’t think that in itself it’s going to make a huge difference, but compound it with really the terrible week he’s had with Machado and the debate last week, all this is weighing him down to the point where he has nothing left to do but explain his past to the American people,” Palacio said.

For now, Trump is threatening what would likely be a protracted legal battle with the world’s most influential newspaper. A lawyer for Trump sent a letter to the Times describing the publication of the documents as illegal and threatening “prompt initiation of appropriate legal action,” according to the paper.

But the Times appears ready to do battle: CNN reported on Sept. 12 that Dean Baquet, the paper’s executive editor, told a Harvard University forum that he would risk prison, if necessary, to publish Trump’s tax returns.

Asked why by documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, Baquet said the unauthorized publication of Trump’s tax records is in the public interest because he is "a presidential candidate whose whole campaign is built on his success as a businessman, and his wealth.”

Clinton’s Twitter account — managed by her staff — immediately retweeted the story twice, and many of her aides weighed in on Twitter within minutes.

"BOMBSHELL: Trump's returns show just how lousy a businessman he is AND how long he may have avoided paying any taxes," wrote press secretary Brian Fallon.

Campaign Manager Robby Mook said in a statement that the story “reveals the colossal nature of Donald Trump's past business failures and just how long he may have avoided paying any federal income taxes whatsoever.”

Mook added: “He apparently got to avoid paying taxes for nearly two decades -- while tens of millions of working families paid theirs. He calls that 'smart.' Now that the gig is up, why doesn't he go ahead and release his returns to show us all how 'smart' he really is?"

POLITICO reported in June that in 1991 and 1993, Trump appeared to have paid “zero, or near-zero” in personal income taxes, citing records from New Jersey’s gambling authorities.

Asked at the time whether he had paid personal income taxes during those years, Trump responded simply, “Welcome to the real estate business.”

During Monday’s presidential debate, Clinton attacked Trump for refusing to release his tax returns, which he said he will not disclose until an IRS audit of them is complete.

Clinton floated several alternate theories as to why Trump was refusing to release the documents, including, she said, because “maybe he doesn't want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes.”

“The only years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax,” Clinton said.

“That makes me smart,” Trump retorted.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/1...#ixzz4LtlbGFoP

But the Times appears ready to do battle: CNN reported on Sept. 12 that Dean Baquet, the paper’s executive editor, told a Harvard University forum that he would risk prison, if necessary, to publish Trump’s tax returns.

Asked why by documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, Baquet said the unauthorized publication of Trump’s tax records is in the public interest because he is "a presidential candidate whose whole campaign is built on his success as a businessman, and his wealth.”

It's really not his wealth, Baquet. It's certainly not his income and it's definitely not how much or how little income tax he paid. Most Republicans oppose the income tax and have since 1913 when Democrats passed the first income tax.

What Trump's campaign is built on is his success as a businessman in achieving things, getting results, building, turning bad areas into a places of employment and beauty. His campaign is also built on his political philosophy of secure borders and protected trade. Those are the 3 reasons Trump won the Republican nomination, those are the 3 reasons he's within reach of the Presidency.

Report claims Trump declared $916M loss on 1995 income tax returns
Published October 02, 2016 FoxNews.com

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump declared a loss of nearly $916 million on his 1995 income tax returns, The New York Times reported Saturday, citing leaked copies of his tax records.

The paper reported that Trump's claimed losses were so large that they would have allowed him to avoid paying an equivalent amount of federal income tax over an 18-year period.

The newly reported documents are certain to become an issue in the presidential race. Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, has repeatedly called on him to release his returns. Trump has declined to do so because, of an IRS audit.

The Times reported that the documents were mailed to one of its reporters last month. The return address indicated that they had been sent from Trump Tower in New York City. The paper said it had confirmed the returns' accuracy with Trump's then-accountant.

"This is legit," Jack Mitnick, whose name appears as Trump's tax preparer of the filings, told the newspaper.

The Trump campaign issued a statement late Saturday saying the documents had been "illegally obtained" and called The Times "an extension of the Clinton Campaign, the Democratic Party and their global special interests."
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"Mr. Trump is a highly-skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required," the statement went on. "That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions."

The statement also claimed that Trump "knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for President and he is the only one that knows how to fix it."

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said the Times report "reveals the colossal nature of Donald Trump's past business failures and just how long he may have avoided paying any federal income taxes whatsoever.

"He stiffed small businesses, laid off workers, and walked away from hardworking communities. And how did it work out for him? He apparently got to avoid paying taxes for nearly two decades -- while tens of millions of working families paid theirs."

Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon tweeted late Saturday that the Times report was a "bombshell."

The Times report stated that tax experts have found no evidence of wrongdoing connected with Trump's 1995 tax returns, though the paper notes that the large loss claim almost certainly would have drawn the attention of the IRS.

During last week's presidential debate, Clinton speculated that Trump's returns would show that he has paid little or no federal income taxes. She cited documents obtained by Politico that showed Trump didn't pay any federal income tax during at least two years in the early 1990s because he lost more money than he earned. Other documents show he also didn't pay any federal income taxes in 1978, 1979 and 1984.

Trump responded by saying "That makes me smart," a comment he disavowed just minutes after the debate. Asked by reporters if he had admitted to not paying federal income taxes, Trump said, "I didn't say that at all."

Trump added during the debate that he would release his returns — over what he described as his attorney's objections — only after Clinton released roughly 30,000 emails she had deleted from her private server that she had deemed personal.

Since 1976, every major party presidential nominee has released tax returns. Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years' worth, and Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns.

Because of provisions in the tax code that allow wealthy individuals to offset their personal income with losses in various partnerships and business ventures, Trump could have used his losses in 1995 to avoid incurring tax liabilities on as many as three years of prior and 15 years of future profits.

The $916 million in losses reported by the Times would not include previous years of losses incurred by Trump while his New Jersey casino empire slid into bankruptcy.

In an interview, Mitnick told the Times he had sometimes found it odd that the tax code allowed Trump to live in such luxury without paying income taxes.

"Here the guy was building incredible net worth and not paying tax on it," he said.

The Associated Press reported this week that Trump has released tax documents to gambling regulators in multiple states, as well as banks that have lent the GOP candidate money over the years. However, those who have seen the returns are barred from discussing their full contents by professional or legal restrictions.

Fox News' Chris Snyder, Mike Emanuel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016...x-returns.html

From Fox Article:

Because of provisions in the tax code that allow wealthy individuals to offset their personal income with losses in various partnerships and business ventures, Trump could have used his losses in 1995 to avoid incurring tax liabilities on as many as three years of prior and 15 years of future profits.

These provisions in the tax code are necessary to an income based tax. There's no other fair way to do it. Furthermore, it doesn't just apply to "wealthy individuals", it applies to any business of any size including farming and small businesses. It means you invested and spent more than you earned in income. Those investments and expenditures improved communities, hired people, added to the GDP, paid all the income taxes and payroll taxes for thousands of workers, contractors, vendors and banks.

People are very reluctant today to invest in the United States, our inner cities, our blighted areas, because of the risk of loss and failure. Under today's income tax code, when you pay off a bank loan, the principal payments you made are taxable. This absurdity called "phantom income" has grown business debt and discourages investment, because in order to pay off a $1,000,000 loan, you'll have to earn at least $1,400,000 to do that, before you even get to your operating expenses, the $400,000 is just the income tax on your principal you paid off. Interest payments are deductible, but principal payments are not.

Dean Baquet, Executive Editor of the New York Times:

Dean Baquet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born September 21, 1956 (age 60)
New Orleans, Louisiana

Occupation Executive Editor, The New York Times
Notable credit(s) The New York Times, Los Angeles Times

Dean P. Baquet (born September 21, 1956) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist.[1][2]

Baquet has been the Executive Editor of The New York Times since June 2, 2011, reporting directly to Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., the Chairman and Publisher.[3][4] Baquet is the first Black American to serve as Executive Editor, the highest-ranking position in the New York Times newsroom.

In 1988, Baquet won the Pulitzer Prize for leading a team of reporters which included Bill Gaines and Ann Marie Lipinski at the Chicago Tribune who exposed corruption on the Chicago City Council.

Contents

1 Early life and education
2 Career
3 Notable stories
4 Personal life
5 Awards
6 Notes

Early life and education

Baquet was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of well-known New Orleans restaurateur, Edward Baquet, and is a member of a prominent New Orleans Creole family.[5][6]

Baquet graduated from St. Augustine High School in 1974.[7] Baquet studied English at Columbia University from 1974 to 1978; however, he dropped out to pursue a career in journalism.[8]

Career

Baquet was a reporter for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1984, Baquet joined the Chicago Tribune where won the Pulitzer, before joining The New York Times in April 1990 as a Metropolitan Desk Reporter. In May 1992, Baquet became the Special Projects Editor for the Business Desk. In January 1994, Baquet held the same title; however, he operated out of the Executive Editor's office. In 2000, Baquet joined the Los Angeles Times as Managing Editor, and in 2005, Baquet became the Editor for the newspaper.[9] Baquet was fired after he publicly opposed plans to cut newsroom jobs.[10]

In 2007, Baquet rejoined The New York Times, where he held positions as the Washington Bureau Chief, National Editor, Assistant Managing Editor, and the Managing Editor.[11] Baquet was appointed to the Managing Editor position in September 2011,[12] and promoted to Executive Editor on May 14, 2014.[13]

Baquet is a member of the Board of Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Notable stories

Baquet was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in March 1988, after he led a team of three Chicago Tribune reporters documenting corruption in the Chicago City Council in Illinois. Baquet was a finalist for the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in the same category. At the Los Angeles Times, Baquet edited a story published a few days before the 2003 California recall election that initiated the Gropegate controversy, raising concerns about gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger's sexual misconduct.

In 2006, ABC News reported that Baquet had killed a story about NSA wiretaps of Americans.[14] Commenting on Baquet's role in suppressing the NSA story, constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald said of Baquet "...Dean Baquet does have a really disturbing history of practicing this form of journalism that is incredibly subservient to the American national security state, and if his past record and his past actions and statements are anything to go by, I think it signals that the New York Times is going to continue to descend downward into this sort of journalism that is very neutered and far too close to the very political factions that it's supposed to exercise oversight over."[15]

In September 2013, Baquet refused to cover a massive race discrimination lawsuit against the Washington Post, telling freelance writer Evan Gahr, who broke the story, that "no news organization in America would report on every discrimination lawsuit filed in every court in every medium-sized city."[citation needed]

In January, 2015, in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shooting , Dean Baquet called Marc Cooper, a journalism professor and blogger at the University of Southern California, "an asshole" on Facebook. Cooper had criticised the New York Times for not publishing the cartoons of Muhammad, in the context of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. [16][17]

Personal life

According to Baquet's colleagues, he prefers to be known as a Creole, as opposed to African-American. His brother, Terry, has stated, "Creole in New Orleans is Black. We're descendants of Haitians. We're Black; Creole is not a race."[18][19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Baquet

So, this is a scandal? The NY times said in the article that nothing he did was illegal. CPA's are tax "professionals whose mission is to minimize tax liability. Is the CPA profession a scandal? You can bet the Clintons use them. IMO