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Dec 6th, 2017
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178
Moderator Carpal Tunnel
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178 |
The central point of the tax return issue surrounding Trump right now is fairness. An ordinary citizen does not have the opportunity to write off such losses to reduce their tax burden. (And, of course, LOSE a BILLION dollars....)
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178
Moderator Carpal Tunnel
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178 |
Remember "The Producers"? This is actually based upon a real situation. For years - decades even - the Edison Hotel in New York hosted the show " Oh! Calcutta!" in its theater (at one time the longest running show on Broadway). The show never made money, but because it was part of the hotel's business, its losses could be directly "written off" against the cost of running the hotel. As I understood it, the tax benefits were particularly advantageous to hoteliers. I don't know the details, but I do remember the situation (and stayed at the Edison during its run - although I never saw the show, something I now regret).
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178
Moderator Carpal Tunnel
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178 |
What the government does for people like Donald Trump that it won’t do for the poor: A common criticism of food stamps and similar programs is that they make getting by without contributing to society too easy, discouraging people from working as hard as they could. The tax code is full of giveaways, though, and the distortions that benefit wealthy taxpayers create all the same economic problems without doing anything for those who really need the help. (Emphasis mine) The tax laws were written on the principle that a business ought to be able to count past losses against future gains. A business can often lose money for a while (especially in its first few years) and then make more money later on. Over time, the taxes paid should represent the overall profit earned by the business.
Trump's situation, however, is more complicated. Trump claimed the loss against his personal income, not against his businesses' income, according to the New York Times report. This suggests that like many other wealthy people, Trump owns businesses that belong to special legal categories -- such as partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations -- allowing him to count losses in business against personal income. This could enable Trump and other taxpayers to use business losses to minimize the taxes they owe over time. In essence, what Trump is doing is taking the losses to improve his personal bottom line, but padding the "success" of his businesses by hiding those losses in public accountability. It is worse than that, really, but that's enough for this post.
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 11,991 Likes: 128
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 11,991 Likes: 128 |
il Douche is now spinning his lack of tax paying as he is a Master of the Tax Code... as President, he will help everyone to not pay taxes.
Wonder what that will do for the country to have no revenues to operate with? I sure wouldn't want to be dependent on getting a check from the government!
Just kidding, sort of - everything would collapse, not just the issuance of government checks. Maybe that isn't really classified as kidding?
Anyway, whatever the fvck crazy things he would do can't be 1/10th as bad as Hillary going rogue with the emails again. Right?
You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129 Likes: 257
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129 Likes: 257 |
And he is continually opening new businesses so the true profit and loss of any individual business is not apparent. (If he had just one company, then his lack of business acumen would be obvious.) A good (but unethical and maybe illegal) way to hide income is to have a business incur lots of start-up losses and then go bankrupt and stop operating before it starts to generate income. In the meanwhile, you pay yourself and family members a generous salary or give them stock options they can gain by selling before the bankruptcy. Sound familiar?
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 17,125 Likes: 250
It's the Despair Quotient! Carpal Tunnel
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It's the Despair Quotient! Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 17,125 Likes: 250 |
Ponzi would have blushed.
"The Best of the Leon Russell Festivals" DVD
deepfreezefilms.com
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178
Moderator Carpal Tunnel
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178 |
That, I think, is exactly why he went through so many companies. "The Producers" as a series.
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,388
old hand
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OP
old hand
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,388 |
AP FACT CHECK: Trump distorts '90s economic downturnDonald Trump compared the 1990s to the Great Depression, split hairs on his history with bankruptcy and equated his efforts to pay as little as possible in personal income tax to a legal duty.
These deviations from the truth came Monday during a rally speech in Pueblo, Colorado, as Trump responded to a weekend report in The New York Times that revealed the GOP presidential nominee posted a loss of more than $916 million on his 1995 state tax returns. The reported loss could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for nearly two decades.  In the world of euphemisms "deviations from the truth" is at the top of the list.
"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them."
Lenny Bruce
"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month."
Dostoevsky
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 11,991 Likes: 128
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 11,991 Likes: 128 |
In the world of euphemisms "deviations from the truth" is at the top of the list. What is the resistance to calling lies, 'lies'? And liars, 'liars'?
You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178
Moderator Carpal Tunnel
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,985 Likes: 178 |
I had speculated earlier that one reason Trump wouldn't release tax returns was that his personal filings (IRS) would conflict with public records (SEC). Turns out, they do, in a very, very big way. In 1995 he claimed $6,108 in salary from Trump casinos, buy the company reported nearly $600,000 more than that. the Republican presidential candidate told the IRS and New York state tax officials that he collected a mere $6,108 in “wages, salaries, tips, etc.” in 1995. Yet, according to financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that same year Trump received $583,333 in compensation from the then-named Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, the company Trump had taken public in the middle of that year. The figure comes from a proxy statement that the company filed in early 1996. In Trump world, that's "Lying to Peter to steal from Paul."
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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