Trump Tax Records . . . Reveal He Could Have Avoided Paying Taxes for Nearly Two Decades

[swag]

Source: New York Times

Trump Tax Records Obtained by The Times Reveal He Could Have Avoided Paying Taxes for Nearly Two Decades

By DAVID BARSTOW, SUSANNE CRAIG, RUSS BUETTNER and MEGAN TWOHEYOCT. 1, 2016

Donald J. Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show.

The 1995 tax records, never before disclosed, reveal the extraordinary tax benefits that Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, derived from the financial wreckage 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.

Tax experts hired by The Times to analyze Mr. Trump’s 1995 records said 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.

Although Mr. Trump’s taxable income in subsequent years is as yet unknown, a $916 million loss in 1995 would have been large enough to wipe out more than $50 million a year in taxable income over 18 years.

. . . more

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html

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Title line edited because headline was truncated by DU field. If that's a problem for you, mod, then that's a problem.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. Was about to post - just got a breaking banner

Hope the mods understand the title of the article is too long to fit.

[swag]

2. Yeah, I edited it and explained in edits.

Whatever. The story will have legs whether a DU mod locks it or not.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. I was trying to do the same thing with shortening the title

but luckily refreshed LBN to see that you posted it first. Good job!

[swag]

9. Great minds think alike.

[greymattermom]

3. If you lose that much

how can you be living in luxury?

[Foggyhill]

6. It's a pyramid scheme, new people bring in the cash flow

[groundloop]

14. AND apparently he's been using his 'non profit' foundation to launder money

[Loki Liesmith]

5. and boom goes the dynamite

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

97. This is a magic trick

They want us to be mesmerized by the three sheets of paper so we'll forget about the current tax forms which are allegedly being audited. Watch how Trump, Christie and Giliuani spin it. He's a fucking genius; what does a woman know about business?

[Gothmog]

7. WOW

[ailsagirl]

8. That scum has been getting a free ride for some time, now

And he wants to be president??????

Makes my blood boil

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Hopefully will produce a 3am TrumpTweetStorm overnight or Monday morning

Where did they find the tax records?

Juicy one, $916 million is a lot of red ink

[BumRushDaShow]

21. I remember seeing an article recently

about his releasing them related to opening casinos in NJ when they first legalized gambling in the '80s. Just found it - in the Washington Post -

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-income-tax-returns-once-became-public-they-showed-he-didnt-pay-a-cent/2016/05/20/ffa2f63c-1b7c-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html

There is an article from the NY Times from 1991 that discussed his $900 million liability in the 1990s.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/31/business/year-finance-newsmakers-1991-money-movers-caught-turbulent-times-90-s-donald-j.html

Forbes has more about that here - http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2011/04/29/fourth-times-a-charm-how-donald-trump-made-bankruptcy-work-for-him/#5088c1f76f7a

[bucolic_frolic]

23. Goooood Corporate Sleuthing!

Thanks, slowly there is a little more substance to these tax records

[BumRushDaShow]

26. I've had a subscription to the NY Times since 1976

and he has continually been in the news for decades - both in print and radio in the New York media market (we can pick up the NY radio stations here in Philly).

This stuff has been out there hiding in plain sight... But he always had so much going on that the more serious charges were lost amongst the reporting of his tabloid-friendly lifestyle and he managed to drown out and kill the more serious investigations with a blizzard of lawsuits.

[saltpoint]

11. If true, it's time for his supporters to

ask if they think this is fair.

An extremely wealthy person pays no taxes but working people struggle to cover essentials?

Plus his veep nominee is a twisted creep.

What's your vote worth, Trump supporters?

[christx30]

32. They won't care.

They are so anti-tax and anti-government, it's a badge of honor to them.
"Starve the beast" is their favorite phrase. This is what it looks like.

[saltpoint]

34. Yep. So many are intractable.

They think Trump is going to delver the promised land to them.

I'd like to see voters ensure that he never gets that chance and hand Clinton-Kaine a landslide.

[jmowreader]

12. Hang on for a second here

Donald Trump's businesses lost $916 million in Tax Year 1995.

How in hell do you lose a billion dollars in one year then have the gall to get up and brag about your business acumen?

[groundloop]

16. Most certainly much of that was accounting tricks, loopholes, etc.

[LuvNewcastle]

35. Donald Trump has more gall than just about

anybody I'be ever seen.

[mrmpa]

67. He's got more gall than a bladder......n/t

[Ccarmona]

57. And How

Does he attract more financing? Any legitimate bank would deny any future requests for a loan.

[jmowreader]

61. Legitimate banks HAVE denied any future requests for loans

I slightly wonder if the real reason Trump wants to be president is the lifetime Secret Service protection they get. There is probably a very long list of people who want to whack that fat fraud.

[Skittles]

79. this is why he does not want his taxes released

he is a fraud, he is CROOKED

[GopherGal]

88. NYT Headline Misses the Point

Seems the NYT is helping him by emphasizing the wrong thing here. They could be emphasizing that this supposed great businessman lost nearly a billion dollars in one year. Instead, they're leaving themselves open to refutation by emphasizing their extrapolation that after a loss like that he likely hasn't had to pay any federal tax for 18 years.

Or maybe they're crazy like a fox, since that refutation would consist of releasing his tax returns...

[progressoid]

94. He's smart.

He said so.

[Kathy M]

13. Wow unbelievable

I tried making comment .... have no comment .............

Except how could he not be held accountable somehow for this mess he created ..... Did the banks bail him out ?

[Coyotl]

15. How many October Suprises will there be. Who wants to guess? One a day, more ...... LOL

Any guesses on how many of that number will be crimes?

[Rose Siding]

17. They threaten to sue

bastards At least they can't dispute it.

As I recall, this argument didn't cut easily through the bs about the poorndid not pay taxes-

“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 said. “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.”

[Bernardo de La Paz]

66. Trump lies to avoid all other taxes too. Says golf course worth 50 million but no, worth 1.35 millio

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512459121

Donald J. tRump lies to avoid tax or lies to pump his net worth for the campaign. Both can't be true.

When it is for declaring property taxes, he says it is worth $1.35 million.

When it is for candidate declaration forms, which are public and play in the election, he says it is worth $50 million.

[SwankyXomb]

89. Two words:

Prove it.

[saltpoint]

18. Katrina Pierson is going to have to

spin like never before if this tax story plays out.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. She'll be going from show to show

with her Tasmanian Devil suit on.

[saltpoint]

25. LOL. eom

[Thinkingabout]

19. I am not surprised he has not paid any taxes, my question is how does he plan to

Rebuild the infrastructure and increase Defence if there is not any contributions from those like him who claims to be very rich and does not pay taxes.

[Foggyhill]

20. The revelation is not that he doesn't pay taxes, but that he's essentially a horrible businessman

He essentially lives off investors money until he goes "broke" or the company he owns goes broke,
and then he moves on.

Essentially how a grifter works. He is 100% a fly by night con man.

There is a reason why he's got hundreds of "companies", moist used as shell to move, hide assets.

[Thinkingabout]

33. It concerns me he has stiffed people over the years, several bankruptcies and in his plan.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

68. I bet a smart lawyer could lump many of them into a RICO or class action lawsuit. . nt

[smirkymonkey]

90. Bingo!

Spot on. You have nailed it.

[fleabiscuit]

22. K&R

[saltpoint]

27. He don't pay no tax

He don't use no facts

His veep is a creep
He don't get no sleep
He's up late on Twitter
He's sexist and bitter
He slut-shames Machado
He's a real desperado

[spooky3]

46. Good one!

[saltpoint]

48. Hi, spooky3. It's not very

good poetry but it's a lot of fun, plus I was in the mood to rile The Donald up a bit.

He's having a bad week this week, and I'd just hate to see it end!

[spooky3]

50. I don't think you'll have to worry about that.

[saltpoint]

51. : ) eom

[JHB]

52. Can't let this pass without a "+bigly number"

[saltpoint]

54. Thanks, JHB. The $916 million story is

beginning to spread across the interwebs.

I'm guessing by now the news has reached Reince Priebus.

Also guessing Reince isn't returning a lot of phone calls long about now.

[Mozzonozzo]

28. Could it be Meredith McIver?

...The three documents arrived by mail at The Times with a postmark indicating they had been sent from New York City. The return address claimed the envelope had been sent from Trump Tower...

[Berlin Expat]

78. I noticed that as well.....

That's some War College-leve ratf***ing right there.

Trump is naturally paranoid as an individual, and this is only going to feed into his paranoia. In the last few weeks of the 2016 campaign, he's going to be wasting his time and energies on trying to find out who did this to him instead of focusing on the campaign itself. Perfect timing, in my opinion.

I really do wonder who did this; it had to be someone close who had access to those documents.

[kcjohn1]

29. This actually may help unless counterpoint is made

See if this is true, Trump did nothing wrong but play in unfair system. This is all legit. You can carry-forward losses. One of the many advantages the rich have in this crooked system. This doesn't hurt him b/c most people aren't going to voluntarily pay taxes.

Where it could hurt him is he is hammered for the fact he lost $1B. He is not this great business as he touts. Guy is a failure, and that should be what the Clinton campaign should be hitting him with.

[madaboutharry]

30. Could he have purposely let the business sustain massive losses in

order to put himself in a position to not have to pay taxes for decades?

After all, how much of his money was in them anyway? Did he say he figured out how to use other people's money?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

69. That's what the article says. The accounting trick is if you must declare a loss you magnify it. nt

[Thor_MN]

31. Is a tax loss an asset one gets to keep through a bankruptcy?

If so, that's insane.

[Foggyhill]

58. If that's the case, you can actually live off the losses!!!

And its other people, and the government who pays for it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

70. Trump brags about using "Other People's Money". Also reason he stiffs contractors & small biz. nt

[JHB]

36. Psst. There are no "mods", and haven't been since DU3 launched years ago

[spooky3]

49. There are, for the LBN forum (called "hosts").

[JHB]

56. I know (and have been one)

[spooky3]

62. Then you understand why OP was concerned about the title.

[LuckyLib]

37. Bingo. We always knew it was big. This flim-flam artist has

schmoozed his way from one big "deal" to the next, using other folks' money and feathering his own nest. He is a criminal and a con artist. Too bad there are so many stupid Americans who will still support him.

[Kathy M]

38. Is this spreading around twitter ?

cause if let bankruptcy 's happen on purpose and did not pay all the small business 's that provided items or services for casino 's this is beyond wrong . It may be legal but it is not ethical or moral .

I would bet if he owned any buildings at the time they were leveraged above where they should have been leveraged .

[saltpoint]

40. Not sure, but here is the HuffPost headline:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Glaring red and unmissable.

[Kathy M]

42. Thanks

[saltpoint]

43. - - - -

Sure. NBC is picking it up now also.

[saltpoint]

44. ABC and CNN also are running it.

It's a pretty big cat to let out of the bag here in the home stretch of the campaign.

I bet things are a bit tense at Trump Tower this evening.

[Kathy M]

59. I would think they are a bit tense

Glad media picked it up ... hopefully will be on tomorrow too

Thank You

[PasadenaTrudy]

45. Top trending

spot on Twitter now.

[postatomic]

39. They have 3 state returns. I can't find a federal return

My first question would be why would anyone who made over 3 million in business income file a fucking Sch C on a personal return. I think I see what he was doing here. I'd still love to see Statement 1 that outlines the massive loss.

It's all very odd. If I was reviewing this for financial purposes I'd have a ton of red flags.

What a fucking scumbag.

[Jarqui]

41. So he goes from "I'm smart for not paying taxes" to

"I was really dumb to lose nearly $1 billion ... which allowed me to be really smart and not pay taxes!!"

[Glimmer of Hope]

53. Exactly.

[mdillen]

47. After a $916 million tax credit and filing bankrupty six times

I wonder what his idea of making America great again is?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

71. Use other people's money and lie about it. That's his idea to make America great again / whatever.

His economic plan, laughably short on detail as it is, has enough detail to show sober analysts that it would add from $5 to $10 trillion (with a 'tr') to the national debt.

It would drastically cut taxes on the 1% and increase the deficit.

Maybe Donald J. tRump's tax holiday has run out and he needs a quick fix to avoid bankruptcy number Six or Seven, ... I've lost count.

[vadermike]

55. Wiw

Lol tense much at trump tower tonite ? This is blowing up tonite Will this matter with swing voters ? Trump voters won't give a crap

[sarcasmo]

60. Time to keep an eye on Twitter. 3 AM shit storm coming.

[Doctor Jack]

63. This story is all over the place now

I'm getting news alerts every 20 minutes or so from this.

[sarcasmo]

64. #LastTimeTrumpPaidTaxes

Trending high on Twitter right now.

[Kablooie]

65. The depressing thing is that there's nothing illegal in this.

Assuming his loss was accurate the law allows him to duck paying taxes for decades.
It's standard tax procedure.

And losing a billion dollars doesn't help his image but it doesn't damage it much either.
Bad businessman? Maybe. But he continued to live the rich lifestyle so it really wasn't a serious loss.

So it may sound like a scandal but it's not.

[Foggyhill]

72. IF you go through a bankruptcy and can keep the losses, then you can profit from bankruptcy!

If that's actually legal, he'll have to defend it in the debate.
That will be quite fun to see.

[TomCADem]

73. Of Course, If He Is Pumping Up The Value of His Losses...

...such as claiming that a venture is worth hundreds of millions of dollars before declaring bankruptcy and liquidating it, he may be getting a little too creative. For example, he has claimed that his golf courses are worth a lot of money for purposes of estimating his wealth, but for property tax purposes, he vigorously argues that they are not worth much.

[Skittles]

80. it's a scandal because HE CLAIMS HE IS SO SAVVY

he's SMART for not paying taxes!!!! Uh, NO, he's leaving out some DETAILS.

[Dworkin]

74. Who leaked?

Hi,

Whoever leaked these returns is very close in the Trump business/family. That fact alone is going to hurt Trump personally. Bad.

D.

[muriel_volestrangler]

75. Leaked by Marla Maples?

Wyeth Ruthven
‏@wyethwire

My speculation is that Marla Maples leaked the 1995 tax return. They were married at the time and filed jointly.

https://twitter.com/wyethwire/status/782411799911997440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[Koinos]

84. I was thinking exactly the same thing.

[thelordofhell]

76. Almost a billion in losses in just ONE YEAR!!!

How much did this leech on society lose all the other years??

[Stuart G]

77. 5 Well Known Web Sites Have the Trump Tax Avoidance Story at the very Top...

At 6 am eastern time, The New York Times, Washington Post, Huff Post, USA Today, and Yahoo, all these sites, have this story at the very top. All have these words or words very similar...He could have avoided paying income taxes for 20 years......

[JustAnotherGen]

85. CNN

Trumps taxes discussion. I'm thinking early on a Sunday morning the story is getting to older voters who take a passive approach to making a decision of who to vote for.

[gademocrat7]

81. Tax con man

Despicable.

[Stuart G]

82. "Tax Cheat Don"

[beachbum bob]

83. hopefully these are real...remember when Dan Rather was set up with bush's TANG

records? Allowed THE real story on GWB air guard service to be dismissed as some of the documents Rather had were modern day forgeries....the best dirty trick in modern political campaign

[wishstar]

95. That is why NY Times investigator went to Florida to confirm docs with the accountant

Times would not have printed if they hadn't absolutely confirmed the docs and his signature with the tax accountant plus explaining why the first two numbers of the $915 million were typed in differently.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

86. The yuge loss broke the tax prep software & it had to be manually typed; it was that stupefying. .nt

[SunSeeker]

92. I caught that too. The tax preparer had to manually type in two extra digits!

[Sunlei]

87. IMO, the Republican himself released those couple pages. Our IRS has to 'service' these tax dodgers.

[SunSeeker]

91. This sure ended Trump's horrific week with a bang.

Actually, more like a thermo-nuclear explosion.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

93. "Only little people pay taxes."

May he enjoy the same fortunes as Leona Helmsley, the "Queen of Mean."

[mahatmakanejeeves]

96. Adding link to WaPo.

Trump could have avoided paying taxes for 18 years, report on tax records says

By David A. Fahrenthold, Rosalind S. Helderman and Jose A. DelReal

https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/david-a-fahrenthold/
https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/rosalind-s-helderman/
https://twitter.com/PostRoz

https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jose-a-delreal/
https://twitter.com/jdelreal

October 2 at 12:12 AM 

Donald Trump declared a loss of $916 million on his income tax returns for 1995, and — because of tax rules that favor wealthy real estate investors — he could have used that loss to avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, according to a report in the New York Times.

[Initech]

98. This is why tax cuts for the rich are bad, people!!!