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NYT gets Trump's 1995 tax documents, might have avoided taxes for two decades

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Did anyone else hear trumps remark about Hillary suggesting he didn't pay taxes during the debate? He said, "that makes me smart". Isnt that basically admitting to not paying taxes? I'm surprised that wasn't talked about more
 

WedgeX

Banned
The NYT sure is risking a lot for something that wont even put a dent in the polls

.



People don't like to pay their own taxes, but they generally hate it when they think that other people aren't paying their fair share.
I have no idea how much impact this will have, I generally think that most people had pretty much made up their mind at this point barring something really really crazy, but I don't think a whole lot of Americans are cool with (alleged) billionaires paying no taxes.


But honestly, if anything, him losing so much money is going to have a bigger impact.
 

USC-fan

Banned
Not sure how this will play out. They broke the law posting these returns. That plays right into trumps hand of the media being out to get him.

Then you say he lost money one year and thats how he doesn't have to pay taxes to offset that lose. I don't see that as se bombshell. Its the way the tax code is design.

So he lost almost $1 billion in just a year but dude is still worth a ton of money. That crazy.
 

giga

Member
Not sure how this will play out. They broke the law posting these returns. That plays right into trumps hand of the media being out to get him.

Then you say he lost money one year and thats how he doesn't have to pay taxes to offset that lose. I don't see that as se bombshell. Its the way the tax code is design.

So he lost almost $1 billion in just a year but dude is still worth a ton of money. That crazy.

What law?
 

SexyFish

Banned
Not sure how this will play out. They broke the law posting these returns. That plays right into trumps hand of the media being out to get him.

Then you say he lost money one year and thats how he doesn't have to pay taxes to offset that lose. I don't see that as se bombshell. Its the way the tax code is design.

So he lost almost $1 billion in just a year but dude is still worth a ton of money. That crazy.
They didn't break the law though?
 


People don't like to pay their own taxes, but they generally hate it when they think that other people aren't paying their fair share.
Sadly, American do like to vote themselves gifts from the Treasury Department in the form of supporting candidates who promise to lower taxes. It's one of the downsides of Democracy.

The irony is that these tax breaks people are voting for aren't really for the majority, they're for the financial elite. :(
 

Kneecap

Member
Some posters defend the legality of tax avoidance and they're right to. (It's tax evasion that's illegal.) However, morality is a different issue. Slavery, separate but equal, and prohibition were legal too and morally wrong. For a person who would be president, I expect integrity and morality. If the candidate can't meet that standard on taxes (among other issues), fuck 'em.
 

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
I could see them arguing first amendment or actual authorization to publish it from a source.
They need authorization from Trump though. It was an anonymous letter sent to a NYT reporter. I think he won't sue them because that would mean admitting the returns are his.

I think publishing this was a mistake for NYT because if Trump does sue, they'll be in trouble. People already know about his business losses back in the 90s. He filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy four times which allowed him to keep his companies running while he came up with a repayment plan.
 

jmood88

Member
Not sure how this will play out. They broke the law posting these returns. That plays right into trumps hand of the media being out to get him.

Then you say he lost money one year and thats how he doesn't have to pay taxes to offset that lose. I don't see that as se bombshell. Its the way the tax code is design.

So he lost almost $1 billion in just a year but dude is still worth a ton of money. That crazy.
Meanwhile, Trump and the republicans have cheered and shared emails that were actually taken illegally.
 

giga

Member
They need authorization from Trump though. It was an anonymous letter sent to a NYT reporter. I think he won't sue them because that would mean admitting the returns are his.

I think publishing this was a mistake for NYT because if Trump does sue, they'll be in trouble. People already know about his business losses back in the 90s. He filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy four times which allowed him to keep his companies running while he came up with a repayment plan.
They're signed by Marla as well. And I'm not certain the source is anonymous, as Craig has been coy about that: https://twitter.com/allahpundit/status/782607668351410176
 
None of their CEOs are running for President. Romney made it a point to say how much he paid in taxes in 2012. People don't like voting for people who they think aren't paying their fair share of taxes.

But what does it matter if they aren't running for President? He runs a business and has obligations not only to himself but to the people who fund said business to ensure it is as profitable as possible. It's not like he could have said 20 years ago... "hmm I might run for president one day I'm going to start paying taxes the right way!" He literally is working through the compounds of the government that is so fucked up in the first place.
 
i always hope things like that will be the final nail in the coffin but he'll admit to it and say that it was a good business move, he'll be the best to close those loophole and they would've wasted his tax money anyway so it was better invested in his hands.

and nothing will change.
 
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Notice the arrow pointing to where Marla signed? This was on the copy provided to the NYT.
 
But what does it matter if they aren't running for President? He runs a business and has obligations not only to himself but to the people who fund said business to ensure it is as profitable as possible. It's not like he could have said 20 years ago... "hmm I might run for president one day I'm going to start paying taxes the right way!" He literally is working through the compounds of the government that is so fucked up in the first place.

Its not too much to ask that someone running for president to hold their obligations to the country and its citizens above obligations to shareholders. And beyond that, Trump has attacked plenty of other people for not paying taxes. Stop moving the goalposts.
 
Its not too much to ask that someone running for president to hold their obligations to the country and its citizens above obligations to shareholders. And beyond that, Trump has attacked plenty of other people for not paying taxes. Stop moving the goalposts.

What? You would literally be removed from your position within said company. I'm in graduate business school and they literally teach us this. Your role as President and CEO is to maximize shareholder value. Period. If you don't do it, you're out. Don't blame the player blame the game.
 
Has Marla been relatively silent during the campaign or has she indicated support for Donald previously?
When Trump floated the idea of running in 1999, she said if he ever made it to the general, she would release everything she had on him so the public could see what he really is.
 
So, I usually never thought taxes are a salient issue for a campaign and I was a bit annoyed at the Clinton campaign keeping to pressure the point because I ultimately didn't think it would matter.

I apologize, Hillary, I was wrong.
 

Christine

Member
But what does it matter if they aren't running for President? He runs a business and has obligations not only to himself but to the people who fund said business to ensure it is as profitable as possible. It's not like he could have said 20 years ago... "hmm I might run for president one day I'm going to start paying taxes the right way!" He literally is working through the compounds of the government that is so fucked up in the first place.

Did he do that, though? Believe it or not, making 2 billion and not paying taxes on half of it is better than making a billion and not paying any taxes.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Considering how his tax returns has been one of the topics that has stuck with Trump since the beginning, I think there's a good chance it will. The other thing that stuck with Trump was his racism and birther movement involvement, and that's continued even after he's 'denouncement.' The only way it's going to really go away is if Trump releases his full tax returns, but it's just not happening. He's held them this close for so long, he's not letting them out now. Even if he did as some kind of 'gotcha', there's still these tax returns where he lost a fucking billion dollars almost in just a year that calls into any question how good of a businessman he is.

There's no way it isn't at least a story until the election itself, but whether it dominates headlines is pretty unclear. It's headlining every news site right now, though.
 

gtj1092

Member
What I've learned during this election that if something legal then it's ok despite the fact the people benefitting from these rules are also the people financing the elections.
 

phisheep

NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
Second, we'd have to see how he lost the billion. It's very easy to manufacture losses from an accounting standpoint, and could be where the "real" fraud lies.

Yep, that's the the stinger here.

Too many people here saying that this is perfectly legit - but this is Donald Fucking Trump and he does not get a free pass on this stuff. If it looks shady, then quite probably it is.
 
“I want a man who’s a genius at figuring out how to take this country that’s moving in the wrong direction,” Giuliani added. “Don’t you think a man who has this kind of economic genius is a lot better for the United States than a woman, and the only thing she’s ever produced is a lot of work for the FBI checking out her emails?”

Giuliani is a real piece of shit
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
The problem that the right is missing is that nobody cares if its legal, its about the optics of losing a billion fucking dollars when you're running your campaign on being super smart, and the optics of not paying taxes regardless of the legality of doing so.
 

WedgeX

Banned

Jobbs

Banned
Giuliani is a real piece of shit

Giuliani is so vile and grotesque I can't even watch him speak. Truly one of the most disgusting rats in the public space; I still remember the time he laughed mockingly at Obama being a community organizer. The vileness of his putrid soul is physically and audibly manifest in a way that makes me uncomfortable. I change the channel if he shows up on TV in any form
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Not sure how this will play out. They broke the law posting these returns. That plays right into trumps hand of the media being out to get him.

Then you say he lost money one year and thats how he doesn't have to pay taxes to offset that lose. I don't see that as se bombshell. Its the way the tax code is design.

So he lost almost $1 billion in just a year but dude is still worth a ton of money. That crazy.

They didn't necessarily. There's a good-faith first amendment argument. Whether a court would buy it is unclear.
 

Boney

Banned
The issue is that avoiding taxes like this is that the man has basically avoided his role as a taxpayer to help America develop. If he has absolutely no civic ethics, it doesn't matter if he's a private citizen, if he doesn't care to screw over millions for his own benefit, then that man has no place in being a public servant, let alone president.
 
The issue is that avoiding taxes like this is that the man has basically avoided his role as a taxpayer to help America develop. If he has absolutely no civic ethics, it doesn't matter if he's a private citizen, if he doesn't care to screw over millions for his own benefit, then that man has no place in being a public servant, let alone president.

There are several clear issues here.

1) Lost 1 billion dollars, hurts his business image
2) Avoided taxes, dubious integrity
3) What else is he hiding?
4) Drip drip drip releases being promised as this was not everything NYT had.
 
The issue is that avoiding taxes like this is that the man has basically avoided his role as a taxpayer to help America develop. If he has absolutely no civic ethics, it doesn't matter if he's a private citizen, if he doesn't care to screw over millions for his own benefit, then that man has no place in being a public servant, let alone president.

but he created tens of thousands of jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Dude also said he had nothing to hide and wanted to release them but his lawyers said no, right? so he can't be mad right?
 

tokkun

Member
Did he do that, though? Believe it or not, making 2 billion and not paying taxes on half of it is better than making a billion and not paying any taxes.

So you're suggesting that Trump acted against his own financial best interest and gave up hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profit because of....what, principles?
 

Primus

Member
The New York Times risked legal trouble to publish Donald Trump's tax return
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-trouble-to-publish-donald-trumps-tax-return/

Josh Marshall has a good several grafs (start at "An entirely separate point.") on why this is not necessarily a legal problem for the NYT. Boils down to did the info just fall from the sky and into the NYT's lap, or was the NYT in contact with the unknown actor prior to the acts being committed.

Right now, we're in fall-from-the-sky territory. If Trump can find evidence of some sort of collusion on the NYT's part, then it's a different ballgame.
 
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