• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

Status
Not open for further replies.
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?

What is this profit you speak of? We don't even know if he has a positive net worth. He wants you to assume he is a successful businessman. He may well be on the brink of bankruptcy. No evidence to the contrary.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
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.


You'd have to assume Trump had no prior enemies for the idea of collusion to be a slamdunk.
 
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.

Wait, wait, wait. This is about his personal income tax, though, right? Like, I understand that as a CEO you should be making decisions for the company that maximize shareholder value, but this isn't about decisions made for the company, right? This is about his own personal income tax. Am I wrong that there is a distinction there? Unless Donald Trump, the person, has shareholders I don't think this defense really works.
 

Zeeman

Member
Wait, wait, wait. This is about his personal income tax, though, right? Like, I understand that as a CEO you should be making decisions for the company that maximize shareholder value, but this isn't about decisions made for the company, right? This is about his own personal income tax. Am I wrong that there is a distinction there? Unless Donald Trump, the person, has shareholders I don't think this defense really works.

Here's something I was wondering too, and I hope someone more familiar with the US tax system could enlighten me: Does the fact that he took this as a personal loss mean that this actually adversely affected his company, as it couldn't claim a corporate loss?
 

Steel

Banned
Wow, Gary Johnson on CNN just now is amazingly clueless on this subject.

Hasn't read the article.

Has to have the situation explained to him by the anchor.

Thinks it's not possible to use this loss to avoid taxes while claiming to be an expert of tax law. It is.
 
wow, Gary Johnson on CNN just now is amazingly clueless on this subject.

Hasn't read the article.

Has to have the situation explained to him by the anchor.

Thinks it's not possible to use this loss to avoid taxes while claiming to be an expert of tax law. It is.

Freaking Gary Johnson. Man this election season is mind boggling. November 9th can come soon enough.
 
Wow, Gary Johnson on CNN just now is amazingly clueless on this subject.

Hasn't read the article.

Has to have the situation explained to him by the anchor.

Thinks it's not possible to use this loss to avoid taxes while claiming to be an expert of tax law. It is.

And there are people who want to protest vote Gary Johnson.
 
Isn't the bigger story here that we have a tax code that freaking allows this to happen?

Edit: Well maybe not the bigger story since the main one is about a guy running for president, but it feels like it's being ignored.
 

Christine

Member
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?

I'm trying to suggest that such a thing doesn't make sense. Tax avoidance is a valuable strategy to optimize returns but you get more benefit from just actually making larger profits. Donald may enjoy living "Big League" on fringe benefits but that does not represent success for his financial enterprise. Structuring the business to avoid profits does not enrich its equity investors!
 
I love how the Trump army is up in arms over the legality of the leaked information while they demand to see leaked emails for Clinton lol. I'll give Trump supporter's one thing, they're Olympians of mental gymnastics.
 

Derwind

Member
Isn't everything he does? It doesn't matter. Media will mention it once, move on and rinse and repeat his bullshit.

Media shouldn't matter, if he's involved in criminal behaviour, there is nothing stopping federal bodies from taking action against his activities.

News networks like Fox, CNN, MSNBC... ect all pander to the ratings of their respective networks... unbiased, objectively journalism isn't what makes them money.
 

Toxi

Banned
I love how the Trump army is up in arms over the legality of the leaked information while they demand to see leaked emails for Clinton lol. I'll give Trump supporter's one thing, they're Olympians of mental gymnastics.
These are the same people who were salivating over DNC emails stolen by Russian state-sponsored hackers and publicly dumped without removing information like SSNs.

Online Trump supporters are a disingenuous pile of shitheads.
 

joebruin

Member
Haha of,course the spin is that Trump is a genius for not paying income tax and that only he knows enough about about tax law to fix the loopholes.
 
Giuliani is a real piece of shit

Funny thing about Giuliani is that he is largely credited with dismantling most of the major mafia organizations in New York during the 90s but decades later has proven himself to be a bigger piece of shit than virtually any of the crime bosses he put away during his tenure as AG and mayor.
 
Here's something I was wondering too, and I hope someone more familiar with the US tax system could enlighten me: Does the fact that he took this as a personal loss mean that this actually adversely affected his company, as it couldn't claim a corporate loss?

So, I am not an expert, but here's an attempt.

Trump's business and personal taxes are separated if his business was set up as a corporation. This is because the entire concept of the corporation is to separate his business and personal finances. But if he's using certain forms of business, then the distinction is basically erased, where his business revenues are inherently part of his personal income tax.

Now, non-corporate forms are normally used for smaller businesses and not businesses of Trump's size. You wouldn't really talk about "shareholders" when you're using these. And also, how he deducts those losses have nothing to do with his partners, as the way partnerships are taxed is that loss/gains are passed through to each member's personal taxes in proportion to their ownership (so if someone owns 50% of a business that has a million dollar loss, their personal taxes show a 500k loss).

All of this is to say, basically, that my read on this "stockholders" excuse is probably bullshit.
 

jstripes

Banned
Haha of,course the spin is that Trump is a genius for not paying income tax and that only he knows enough about about tax law to fix the loopholes.

You're assuming that was him who knew about the loopholes, and not his accountants.

A heavy assumption.
 
Haha of,course the spin is that Trump is a genius for not paying income tax and that only he knows enough about about tax law to fix the loopholes.


He is a genius. The best genius. A genius strategy. Be a complete moron and dumbass in business, and then not pay income tax for the next two decades.
Genius!
And all the people he screwed in his bankruptcies are fools. The best fools. They pay taxes.

All that spin truly made me nauseous for a bit. Trump and his people are fucking disgusting
 

CHC

Member
Wow, Gary Johnson on CNN just now is amazingly clueless on this subject.

Hasn't read the article.

Has to have the situation explained to him by the anchor.

Thinks it's not possible to use this loss to avoid taxes while claiming to be an expert of tax law. It is.

Legitimately wonder what Gary Johnson does all day? He has no idea about ANY of the issues. I mean I understand you can't know everything, but he doesn't even have the broadbrush-strokes idea of what the fuck is ever going on.
 
Legitimately wonder what Gary Johnson does all day? He has no idea about ANY of the issues. I mean I understand you can't know everything, but he doesn't even have the broadbrush-strokes idea of what the fuck is ever going on.


He memes all day
 

Acorn

Member
Legitimately wonder what Gary Johnson does all day? He has no idea about ANY of the issues. I mean I understand you can't know everything, but he doesn't even have the broadbrush-strokes idea of what the fuck is ever going on.
Dabs all day.
 

joebruin

Member
Legitimately wonder what Gary Johnson does all day? He has no idea about ANY of the issues. I mean I understand you can't know everything, but he doesn't even have the broadbrush-strokes idea of what the fuck is ever going on.

we all know what Gary Johnson does all day ^
 
Here is my issue this with, he legally did this. Anyone who tells me that if they found a legal way to not pay taxes for 20 years they wouldn't take is a liar. I was watching CNN today and the host kept saying along the lines "shouldn't it be his patriotic duty to pay some taxes blah blah blah". LMAO, such bullshit. Of ALL the issues to attack him on, there are too many to list, this is not it
 
Here is my issue this with, he legally did this. Anyone who tells me that if they found a legal way to not pay taxes for 20 years they wouldn't take is a liar. I was watching CNN today and the host kept saying along the lines "shouldn't it be his patriotic duty to pay some taxes blah blah blah". LMAO, such bullshit. Of ALL the issues to attack him on, there are too many to list, this is not it

Then you're missing the point.
1. The amount he claims as a loss shows incompetence as a business man.
2. Paying less in taxes than a janitor is just bad for optics. He clearly isn't paying his fair share
 
Here is my issue this with, he legally did this. Anyone who tells me that if they found a legal way to not pay taxes for 20 years they wouldn't take is a liar. I was watching CNN today and the host kept saying along the lines "shouldn't it be his patriotic duty to pay some taxes blah blah blah". LMAO, such bullshit. Of ALL the issues to attack him on, there are too many to list, this is not it
The thing is that it's a lot easier for rich people to find legal ways to do this than it is for poorer people. The fact that Trump had these opportunities available highlights the unfairness and inequality of our system.
 
Here is my issue this with, he legally did this. Anyone who tells me that if they found a legal way to not pay taxes for 20 years they wouldn't take is a liar. I was watching CNN today and the host kept saying along the lines "shouldn't it be his patriotic duty to pay some taxes blah blah blah". LMAO, such bullshit. Of ALL the issues to attack him on, there are too many to list, this is not it

This is not the first thread I've seen you do this in. What's your deal?
 
Here is my issue this with, he legally did this. Anyone who tells me that if they found a legal way to not pay taxes for 20 years they wouldn't take is a liar. I was watching CNN today and the host kept saying along the lines "shouldn't it be his patriotic duty to pay some taxes blah blah blah". LMAO, such bullshit. Of ALL the issues to attack him on, there are too many to list, this is not it

He's railed against others for not paying enough(let alone none), or for not releasing their taxes, etc... and damn near no one is losing 1.5 billion(might not be the first time) and then going around calling themselves incredible businessmen that can "fix" America. It's also one hell of a way to continue to show people how unfair this damn system is, and the types that take advantage of it over and over.

He should continue to be called out for being a the fraud he is.
 
Then you're missing the point.
1. The amount he claims as a loss shows incompetence as a business man.
2. Paying less in taxes than a janitor is just bad for optics. He clearly isn't paying his fair share

Attacking his business sense is one thing, I agree with, but if he legally did then I don't see an issue, the tax code is the issue in this situation

The thing is that it's a lot easier for rich people to find legal ways to do this than it is for poorer people. The fact that Trump had these opportunities available highlights the unfairness and inequality of our system.

I agree

This is not the first thread I've seen you do this in. What's your deal?

huh?
 
D

Deleted member 20415

Unconfirmed Member
Here is my issue this with, he legally did this. Anyone who tells me that if they found a legal way to not pay taxes for 20 years they wouldn't take is a liar. I was watching CNN today and the host kept saying along the lines "shouldn't it be his patriotic duty to pay some taxes blah blah blah". LMAO, such bullshit. Of ALL the issues to attack him on, there are too many to list, this is not it

Sure. But you also can't avoid paying taxes, a significant amount of taxes, and then turn around and complain that our infrastructure is falling apart and we're falling behind. Well, I mean, you can do that, but you're a giant fucking hypocrite.
 
Sure. But you also can't avoid paying taxes, a significant amount of taxes, and then turn around and complain that our infrastructure is falling apart and we're falling behind. Well, I mean, you can do that, but you're a giant fucking hypocrite.

Right, I'm not debating him being a hypocrite, but the issue here is the tax code which he and anyone in his position would take advantage of
 

Ponn

Banned
Haha of,course the spin is that Trump is a genius for not paying income tax and that only he knows enough about about tax law to fix the loopholes.

The fallacy I can't get over is how anybody jumps from "I'm a genius at gaming the system, not paying any taxes and doing whatever it takes that is in MY best interest screwing over as many millions as necessary to do it." to this person will definitely not take advantage of the system and his power of presidency and will look after me and American interests. I just don't get how anyone can come to that conclusion. Why on earth would a business man like that be interested in "fixing" the system that benefits him? Why? Why?
 
Cty5PwMWcAAxypJ.jpg
 

WedgeX

Banned
Pretty sure he pays for that in state taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, payroll taxes etc etc.

The tax thing is really a non-story but a brilliant political talking point for the Clinton camp.

These are state taxes. Three states, to be exact.
 
Pretty sure he pays for that in state taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, payroll taxes etc etc.

The tax thing is really a non-story but a brilliant political talking point for the Clinton camp.

Hmm, tag checks out. Dude has complained throughout campaign about infrastructure, talked about it at debate as well. Can't shit on it and it's posts for the taxes he has avoided paying. Well technically you can, but that messages you an asshole.
 

massoluk

Banned
Pretty sure he pays for that in state taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, payroll taxes etc etc.

The tax thing is really a non-story but a brilliant political talking point for the Clinton camp.

These are state taxes, and I'm quite amused Payroll tax is included in there. Payroll tax burden is all on the employees.

These are about hypocrisy, however. You don't get to attack people in taxes when you don't pay tax, you don't get to brag about your business acumen when you lose 900 million
 

RaidenZR

Member
Yikes, this news has been everywhere today, and all the headlines just say "Trump avoided paying taxes." The "Trump is a genius" angle by his advocates is super shallow and so laughable. "He's the only one who knows the 'rigged system' and who can fix the loopholes!" Right, like that's in his best interest after he would be out of office in 4 or 8 years....? Give me a break. What a bunch of assholes these advocates are for trying to hoodwink the voting populace on a daily basis. Chis Christie, Guiliani, and Conway especially. They all deserve some major karma consequences.

I hope we can round up Trump's entire troop and ship them off the planet once this election is over. They've poisoned too many ears with their dangerous, self-serving nonsense.
 

mAcOdIn

Member
Pretty sure he pays for that in state taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, payroll taxes etc etc.

The tax thing is really a non-story but a brilliant political talking point for the Clinton camp.
Well interstate roads would be taken care of by the federal government, he bemoans the "gutting" of the military and that's federal and even some of the local infrastructure projects are done through federal assistance in many places so I wouldn't say it's clear cut.

Of course, since he's running as a Republican perhaps he believes a town or city that can't afford to maintain it's roads or bridges and would need federal assistance shouldn't have roads and bridges or some shit. But I don't know of many Republicans that don't think the federal government should fund the military so he's fucked on that.
 

Xe4

Banned
I love that people bring up that it was legal, or that he payed other types of taxes makes this ok. It doesn't. The fact is when people who make magnitudes less money than Trump pay their fair share, and Trump comes along, and acts too good for income tax, saying it makes him "smart" to avoid it, that's fucked up. It doesn't matter how you spin that.
 

tokkun

Member
I'm quite amused Payroll tax is included in there. Payroll tax burden is all on the employees.

By law FICA tax is split 50/50 between employees and their employers.

If you ever become self-employed, you will see your payroll taxes double.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom