NYT acquires 1995 Trump tax return; he deducted $916 million in business losses

[Adam Griffin]

So, in case nobody noticed, the Trump campaign has officially admitted that Donald has paid no federal income tax in the past 20 years:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The specific accusation here is that he paid no federal income tax, and not that he didn't pay any federal taxes period. This statement is a specific response to a specific accusation and explicitly avoids saying "federal income taxes". Why would you bother listing all of that nonsense plus not addressing the federal income tax issue itself unless it's the truth?

Whether it ends up being a "slip-up" or them preparing for the worst, it's obvious that this is an admission of guilt.

[JA]

This man is attracted to unethical and deplorable behavior like a moth to his dumpster fire campaign. But the saddest part is actually how dumb millions of Americans and the Republican Party are for supporting this lunatic. If you support Trump, you deserve nothing but scorn, contempt, and to be ignored by the thinking members of society.

[Badger]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/172772609627394049

so Donald's apparent goal is to hav e more people payinggbg tax. Gotcha.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Right as I wrote my message above. Called it:

Can't wait to see the TV ad version of this.

[ProgressiveCanadian]

Right as I wrote my message above. Called it:

Clinton's team has been on point since the debate!

[Crumpets]

I may still be in the recovery stages of Liberal Panic Mode, but I just don't see this changing the race much if at all. Even since the debate Trump has stayed pretty much consistent in polling despite what everyone considered to be a knockout punch. Clinton has gained, but mostly from the consolidation of those who were already likely voting for her. At this point, it seems, anyone who is saying they support Trump in a poll is with him to the bitter end.

[publicunofficial]

Donald Trump, 2015. First sentence of the 2nd paragraph is interesting.

[EnglishPete]

Official Trump response:



LOL. They aren't even denying it.

Deny it?

Who the hell do you think leaked this? LOL

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

You think this is some Machivellian scheme? Lol

[BlueSwan]

I may still be in the recovery stages of Liberal Panic Mode, but I just don't see this changing the race much if at all. Even since the debate Trump has stayed pretty much consistent in polling despite what everyone considered to be a knockout punch. Clinton has gained, but mostly from the consolidation of those who were already likely voting for her. At this point, it seems, anyone who is saying they support Trump in a poll is with him to the bitter end.

Yup. If Trump shot an unarmed black man dead on live TV, Clinton would move to +8, but likely not beyond that.

[Ebsy]

The facts don't line up with Trump leaking them himself and if you believe that you really are quite dull.

[EnglishPete]

The facts don't line up with Trump leaking them himself and if you believe that you really are quite dull.

Which facts would those be that don't line up with Trump leaking it himself?

He's done this kind of thing before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPnMfSJ_qis

[Seriously?]

Time for him to drop out.

Drop out for legally using the tax code and carrying over operating losses as he is allowed to? Give me a break. The amount of financial illiteracy on this board is astounding.

Further, the Times broke the law by publishing these documents. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[Ebsy]

Time for him to drop out.

Drop out for legally using the tax code and carrying over operating losses as he is allowed to? Give me a break. The amount of financial illiteracy on this board is astounding.

Further, the Times broke the law by publishing these documents. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Which law did they break exactly? Freedom of speech/the press is pretty wide you do realize.

[Slow Learner]

The facts don't line up with Trump leaking them himself and if you believe that you really are quite dull.

Ebsy, you just aren't in tune with the 6D Candyland.

[Ebsy]

The facts don't line up with Trump leaking them himself and if you believe that you really are quite dull.

Which facts would those be that don't line up with Trump leaking it himself?

That these documents were mailed to the NYT last month, before the debate or what he paid in income taxes has become a major issue. Also the specific year of the documents, 1995, which is the most damaging year. You really should read some more before you pollute this board with your inane ramblings stolen from /r/the_donald

[Seriously?]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/172772609627394049

A great deal of those who pay no income taxes are the extreme poor !
Many of these people fall below the poverty level, and their standard deduction, personal deduction and deduction for their children, allow them to not owe federal taxes. They are barely scrapping-by on living.
So of course there are many who don't pay taxes.
But they don't also have top-story penthouses, with gold trim chairs, and a personal full-size jet to fly around.
Big Difference ! !
Good Lord .... the trump campaign are idiots for putting out responses like this.
What do they think ? ..... that the rest of us are as stupid as their poorly educated supporters ?
This is basic tax accounting knowledge/information.
Geeesh !

There is a difference between income and wealth, especially when your trade is in the business of real estate. You amass wealth by building buildings. Most of the wealth is on paper until you sell the asset.  Then you pay the taxes on it. However, you can borrow against the value of the real estate to supplement your lifestyle.

It's the equivalent of most people with their homes. Once the mortgage is paid off, it's their biggest asset, but it's not taxable unless the home is sold and another home is not bought during a certain period of time, or upon death, if the equity in the home is worth enough to pay estate taxes on.

Nothing shocks me about this revelation. Trump is not a bad businessman by any means. He's smart to use the net carryover loss deduction, just as any smart businessman would. Taxes are burdensome operational costs when you are running a business. Minimizing your tax liability is what all businessmen aim for.

[afleitch]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/172772609627394049

A great deal of those who pay no income taxes are the extreme poor !
Many of these people fall below the poverty level, and their standard deduction, personal deduction and deduction for their children, allow them to not owe federal taxes. They are barely scrapping-by on living.
So of course there are many who don't pay taxes.
But they don't also have top-story penthouses, with gold trim chairs, and a personal full-size jet to fly around.
Big Difference ! !
Good Lord .... the trump campaign are idiots for putting out responses like this.
What do they think ? ..... that the rest of us are as stupid as their poorly educated supporters ?
This is basic tax accounting knowledge/information.
Geeesh !

There is a difference between income and wealth, especially when your trade is in the business of real estate. You amass wealth by building buildings. Most of the wealth is on paper until you sell the asset.  Then you pay the taxes on it. However, you can borrow against the value of the real estate to supplement your lifestyle.

It's the equivalent of most people with their homes. Once the mortgage is paid off, it's their biggest asset, but it's not taxable unless the home is sold and another home is not bought during a certain period of time, or upon death, if the equity in the home is worth enough to pay estate taxes on.

Nothing shocks me about this revelation. Trump is not a bad businessman by any means. He's smart to use the net carryover loss deduction, just as any smart businessman would. Taxes are burdensome operational costs when you are running a business. Minimizing your tax liability is what all businessmen aim for.

Paying taxes us a burdensome operational cost when you're living just above the breadline. By what means should they minimise their tax liability?

[Landslide Lyndon]

I see Seriously got his talking points from Trump Tower and immediately got into work.

[EnglishPete]

The facts don't line up with Trump leaking them himself and if you believe that you really are quite dull.

Which facts would those be that don't line up with Trump leaking it himself?

That these documents were mailed to the NYT last month, before the debate or what he paid in income taxes has become a major issue. Also the specific year of the documents, 1995, which is the most damaging year. You really should read some more before you pollute this board with your inane ramblings stolen from /r/the_donald

What's the date of the postmark got to do with it? Trump's federal income tax returns have been talked about for months. Also the year 1995. Who the hell else in Trump tower do you think would access  to Trump's tax return from over 20 years ago?

[Seriously?]

Well, Atlas just shows how much stupider it is than Trump for the umpteenth time this year. What an embarrassment of a thread.

You really need to stop this act. It's not cute, it's not clever...

This. Anyone still defending this piece of sh**t should be ashamed of themselves.

I'll defend Donald J. Trump this "piece of sh**t" as you called him until the cows come home on this. And Sprout's is right. the ignorance of the tax code on this place is amazing.

Quite frankly, if Trump didn't write off legitimate losses against income, he'd just be plain stupid.

You can argue the equity in these allowances until the cows come home. But to claim that Trump is evil for using net carryover losses, like every businessman does when they have a losing trade, is a stretch.

As the head of a company, Trump has an obligation to his employees and his investors to use the tax code diligently to preserve the value of the asset. Taxes erode equity and are to be mitigated to the maximum extent possible.

As always, the plain ignorance from the majority of red avatars on this forum is just staggering.

[Seriously?]

Time for him to drop out.

Drop out for legally using the tax code and carrying over operating losses as he is allowed to? Give me a break. The amount of financial illiteracy on this board is astounding.

Further, the Times broke the law by publishing these documents. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Which law did they break exactly? Freedom of speech/the press is pretty wide you do realize.

I'm pretty sure that "freedom" does not allow you to publish something that you illegally obtain and that is protected by privacy laws. Last I checked, Trump has not authorized the release of his tax returns.

[EnglishPete]

Time for him to drop out.

Drop out for legally using the tax code and carrying over operating losses as he is allowed to? Give me a break. The amount of financial illiteracy on this board is astounding.

Further, the Times broke the law by publishing these documents. They should be ashamed of themselves.

The New York Times, as well as being dependent on the usual range of big corporate advertisers, is bankrolled by Carlos Slim. If you're wondering why they've been so lacking in hesitation to trash their reputation for 'journalistic objectivity' in this election there's one of the main reasons. (The same goes for the Jeff Bezos Propaganda Blog, formally known as the Washington Post)

[Seriously?]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/172772609627394049

A great deal of those who pay no income taxes are the extreme poor !
Many of these people fall below the poverty level, and their standard deduction, personal deduction and deduction for their children, allow them to not owe federal taxes. They are barely scrapping-by on living.
So of course there are many who don't pay taxes.
But they don't also have top-story penthouses, with gold trim chairs, and a personal full-size jet to fly around.
Big Difference ! !
Good Lord .... the trump campaign are idiots for putting out responses like this.
What do they think ? ..... that the rest of us are as stupid as their poorly educated supporters ?
This is basic tax accounting knowledge/information.
Geeesh !

There is a difference between income and wealth, especially when your trade is in the business of real estate. You amass wealth by building buildings. Most of the wealth is on paper until you sell the asset.  Then you pay the taxes on it. However, you can borrow against the value of the real estate to supplement your lifestyle.

It's the equivalent of most people with their homes. Once the mortgage is paid off, it's their biggest asset, but it's not taxable unless the home is sold and another home is not bought during a certain period of time, or upon death, if the equity in the home is worth enough to pay estate taxes on.

Nothing shocks me about this revelation. Trump is not a bad businessman by any means. He's smart to use the net carryover loss deduction, just as any smart businessman would. Taxes are burdensome operational costs when you are running a business. Minimizing your tax liability is what all businessmen aim for.

Paying taxes us a burdensome operational cost when you're living just above the breadline. By what means should they minimise their tax liability?

The whole damn system is set up to minimize tax liability. H&R Block runs ads about maximizing refunds for Christ's sake. Business deals are set up to maximize value by taking advantages of loopholes in the tax code.

I do not malign anyone for staying within the bounds of the law and being as aggressive as possible in minimizing their tax liability. No one likes to pay the government at the end of the day.

If Donald Trump lost money in an economic downturn and used the carryover losses in subsequent years, he's doing exactly what he's supposed to do. He's doing exactly what the tax code is aligned to allow you to do.

Those losses were allowed to be recognized over subsequent years for valid reasons of recapitalization. If you don't allow that kind of deductions, you may have developers not developing and building things. As a result, you get stagnation.

There's nothing sinister about it. There's nothing immoral about it.

[Seriously?]

I see Seriously got his talking points from Trump Tower and immediately got into work.

Sorry, I don't need talking points to discuss common sense.

Any single taxpayer that has ever used H&R Block to find as many deductions as possible is just as "guilty" as Trump is here. I can never, ever, ever malign someone for legally using the tax code to pay as little as posisble to the government.

Maybe you liberals want to pay as much tax as possible, but I for one do not. If you do, you are more than welcome to voluntarily write a check to the IRS.