NY Times Obtains 10 Years Of Trump Taxes

Donald Trump

The New York Times has reportedly obtained printouts from Donald Trump’s "official Internal Revenue Service tax transcripts, with the figures from his federal tax form, the 1040, for the years 1985 to 1994."

It may come as no surprise that the Donald was not nearly as successful as he has touted for years.

In fact, in the years leading up to his 1987 book, The Art of the Deal, which purported Trump to be a self-made billionaire, he was hemorrhaging millions and millions of dollars.

From the New York Times:

The numbers show that in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade.

In fact, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer, The Times found when it compared his results with detailed information the I.R.S. compiles on an annual sampling of high-income earners. His core business losses in 1990 and 1991 — more than $250 million each year — were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the I.R.S. information for those years.

Over all, Mr. Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years. It is not known whether the I.R.S. later required changes after audits.

The Times goes on to note that one maneuver Trump would use to stay afloat was to acquire company shares with borrowed money, then publicly announce he was considering a takeover. Once the stock price would bump up, he would quietly sell his shares. The Times reports Trump reported $67.3 million in such stock gains from 1986 through 1989. However, savvy stock watchers eventually stopped taking his takeover announcements seriously.

Trump’s lawyer, Charles Harder, said in a statement that the tax information was false but didn't point out any specific errors, according to the Times. He reportedly told the newspaper that IRS transcripts “are notoriously inaccurate.”

Of course, the good news is Trump's people can clear up any inaccuracies by providing the actual tax returns which would show the Trumpster to be all that he's claimed to be all these years, right?

By the way - yes, there's a Trump tweet for everything. This one from 2012 didn't age too well, did it?

HALF of Americans don't pay income tax despite crippling govt debt...http://t.co/gDAUj0Kt

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2012

This scolding is doubly delicious now that everyone knows:

(1) Trump doesn't pay income tax; and

(2) He just slapped $22,000,000,000,000+ of crippling govt debt on America's Chinese VISA card. #TrumpTaxes https://t.co/Cofmckh9D0

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 8, 2019

You know how a #BillionDollarLoser proves news that he's a #BillionDollarLoser is "highly inaccurate"?

He releases his tax returns.

You know why a #BillionDollarLoser won't do that? It would prove that he not only was a #BillionDollarLoser but still is a #BillionDollarLoser. https://t.co/fEL3ts0skK

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 8, 2019

#BillionDollarLoser no surprise. Donald Trump May Be One of the Biggest Losers in America https://t.co/HGDkkCabz2

— GapTheGen (@GapTheGen) May 8, 2019

I can’t lie...

I’m not surprised that Donald Trump, a man who cannot spell chief or Kentucky, lost over a billion dollars owning casinos.

Owning...fucking...casinos.#BillionDollarLoser

— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) May 8, 2019

Trump claims to be totally exonerated by Mueller…but blocks full release of the report & any subsequent testimony.

Kinda like how Trump claims to be a brilliant businessman…but blocked release of his tax returns.#BillionDollarLoser #BiggestLoserTrump https://t.co/rHfSgkNpG4

— Eric Wolfson (@EricWolfson) May 8, 2019

Mick Mulvaney: Democrats Will "Never" Get Trump's Taxes

During an appearance on state TV this morning, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News Sunday that Democrats will never get their hands on President Trump's tax returns, calling the request is "a political stunt."

Mulvaney says House Dems will “never” get Trump tax returns. “That’s an issue that was already litigated during the election,” he said on Fox

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 7, 2019

On Wednesday this week, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) formally asked the IRS on Wednesday to turn over 6 years of President Donald Trump's tax returns citing a little-known IRS code that gives only the chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee the power to request tax documents from anyone.

Trump Unveils His Tax Reform Proposal

With a passive/aggressive boast that "it's not good for me," Donald Trump introduced his proposed tax reform plan at a rally in Indiana.

Note: he prefers everyone call it "tax cuts" for better marketing. That should tell you something right off the bat.

Here are the main details you should know:

The current 7 tax brackets would become just three consisting of 12%, 25%, and 35%. The current top rate is 39.6% and the lowest rate is 10%.

While that's an uptick for the lowest income Americans, Trump says that would be offset by doubling the current standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and to $24,000 for married couples. That would also simplify the complex process of itemized deductions for millions.

Most itemized deductions would also be eliminated, but would preserve deductions for mortgage interest expenses, charitable giving, as well as retaining incentives for education and retirement savings plans.

Trump's proposal also includes the option of adding a fourth higher rate above 35% to pretend the rich might their fair share. But there are no indications of what income levels would be associated with the higher rate, or what that new rate might be. I don't see Republicans doing anything with this.

The child tax credit will increase to an unspecified amount.

Trump is proposing no more inheritance tax (a huge boon to rich folks) as well as getting rid of the alternative minimum tax.

Corporate taxes would drop from 35% to 20%.

While Team Trump didn't offer an immediate cost estimate for the plan, a preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calculated a loss of around $2.2 trillion in taxes to the government over the next 10 years.

Donald Trump and the Republicans say the tax reforms will rev up the U.S. economic engine, thus compensating for lost revenue. Trump repeatedly promised during the election that overhauling the tax code would raise economic growth to 4 percent.

Find more details at the New York Times.

Eliminating tax breaks and loopholes ensures the benefits are focused on the middle class, President Trump says https://t.co/FhmEX411n5 pic.twitter.com/h6OOp2EaHS

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) September 27, 2017

Big headline today is Donald Trump is going to try to cut his own taxes by a huge amount.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 27, 2017

Trump #TaxReform
It's a big giveaway to millionaires and corporations, and it won't 'trickle down' to anyone. https://t.co/EQxlJ3gAAP

— Tony Stark 2017 💥 (@1IronMan2017) September 27, 2017

The *whole point* of raising the standard deduction while abolishing the personal exemption is to screw middle-income itemizers. https://t.co/j1TdtSffxk

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) September 27, 2017

Now you get a standard deduction ($6,350) & a personal exemption ($4,050). You keep the personal exemption even if you itemize deductions.

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) September 27, 2017

Under Trump's plan, you get a $12,000 standard deduction. But you lose *all* of it if you itemize deductions. So itemizers come out behind.

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) September 27, 2017

They're trying to fool you by bragging about a "doubled standard deduction." It's a way to tax more of the income of many middle-earners.

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) September 27, 2017

Meanwhile, rich people get lower tax rates and a "small business" tax loophole you can drive a truck through. And no estate tax.

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) September 27, 2017

Donald Trump Lies Again That U.S. Is "Highest Taxed Nation In The World"

Repeating an oft-told lie, Donald Trump tweeted again today that the U.S. is the "highest taxed nation in the world."

This has been proven over and over to be incorrect.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning website Politifact has debunked myth this several times.

When we looked at this claim in the past, we compared the United States to the 33 other industrialized nations in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Data from 2014, the most recent year available, shows that the United States wasn’t the most highly taxed by the typical metrics and actually places near the bottom or around the middle of the pack.

Click image to enlarge

The Twitterverse chimed in:

We are, as pointed out many times, lowest-taxed major advanced nation. Repetition of this lie shows contempt for intelligence of public https://t.co/g9HKH2grdK

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 6, 2017

Untrue: Nations w higher tax than US: Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, UK, Canada, Switzerland..(as % of GDP/developed nations) https://t.co/yxvXsLx3SQ

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) September 6, 2017

Trump on US tax burden, which in fact is lower than in nearly all other developed countries https://t.co/ZV3032cqvI

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 6, 2017

There's no part of this that's true, except that maybe he's going to North Dakota. I'll have to confirm. https://t.co/Y1aQwTfN09

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) September 6, 2017

Donald Trump Promises 35% Tax On Mexican Made Cars

Donald Trump seems to think he can impose taxes at will.

Via the Trumpsters at Breitbart:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would impose a 35% tax on any cars made in Mexico to keep companies from moving out of the US. Discussing a scenario where a car company wanted to build a plant in Mexico, Trump stated, “What would President Trump do? So I’d call the head of Ford, or whatever company, but I’d call the head of Ford. I’d say, ‘Congratulations, I understand you’re building a massive plant, in Mexico, and you’re taking a lot of jobs away from us in Michigan and other places. I don’t like that. I don’t like it. I just don’t like it.’ And he’ll say, ‘Well, Mr. President. It’s wonderful, wonderful for the economy. Oh, great, just great.’

“It’s wonderful for whose economy? Not for our economy. We lose on everything. We lose on jobs. We lose on money. We lose on everything. So, what I’d say is the following: ‘I don’t want you to do that. And if you do it, you’re not going to have any cars coming across the border unless you pay a 35% tax.’ That’s it. That’s it. No, that’s it! And they’re going to say — they’re going to say to me, ‘Mr. President, please, please, please.’ Now, I guarantee you. Let’s say I make this call at 9:00 in the morning, by 5:00 in the afternoon, I think the deal is done, they move back to the United States.”

Donald Trump, Breaking 40 Years Of Tradition, Will Not Release His Tax Returns

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has reversed himself and, in an interview with the Associated Press, announced that he will not be releasing his tax returns before the election in November.

From the New York Times:

“There’s nothing to learn from them,” Mr. Trump told The A.P., explaining that he did not think voters were particularly interested in the contents of his returns.

The release of tax returns is not legally required of presidential candidates, but there is a long tradition of major party nominees putting their returns forward for the public to peruse. Joseph J. Thorndike, an adjunct college professor who tracks presidential tax returns as the director of the Tax History Project, said Mr. Trump would be the first major candidate since 1976 to not make any of his full returns public. President Gerald R. Ford released a tax summary that year.

During the heat of his primary battle, Mr. Trump said he would release his tax information and blamed the delay on the complexity of his finances. He later said that he could not do it immediately because he is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, and that his lawyers advised him against it. Mr. Trump has also explained that he cannot release returns form previous years because the government audits him almost every year.

Although Mr. Trump has cited the audit as a reason for withholding his returns, Dr. Thorndike noted that President Richard M. Nixon released his under audit, starting the tradition of candidates making theirs public.

“I think 40 years of tradition carries real moral and ethical weight,” Dr. Thorndike said. “It is quite striking that a major candidate would decide not to release their tax information — especially someone with an admittedly complex tax situation.”

Among the most prominent people to call on Mr. Trump to release his returns this year has been Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee who did not want to release his tax returns but finally relented under pressure. One of the people who was encouraging him to do so that year was Mr. Trump, who said that Mr. Romney should be proud of his wealth and not hold back his financial information.

“Mitt has to get those tax returns out,” Mr. Trump said in a Fox News interview at the time. “I’m a little surprised they weren’t better prepared for that.”

You have to wonder what he's hiding, no?

Tweet Of The Day: Republicans Protest Taxes & Abortion

The person who shared this on Twitter says this is NOT parody. These are real protesters.

Oh my god. Republican protests are NEXT LEVEL. I can't stop laughing. pic.twitter.com/AJQMQbFsmw

— Calvin (@aurosan) August 11, 2015

Burger Kings says headquarters isn't moving to Canada

As Burger King's plans to evade paying taxes in the US and move to Canada (by buying coffee and donut maker Tim Horton's) drew ire, Burger King issued this statement on their Facebook page:

We hear you. We’re not moving, we’re just growing and finding ways to serve you better.

As part of the announcement made today, both Burger King Corp. and Tim Hortons will continue to operate as independent brands. We’ll just be under common ownership. Our headquarters will remain in Miami where we were founded more than 60 years ago and business will continue as usual at our restaurants around the world.

The decision to create a new global QSR leader with Tim Hortons is not tax-driven – it’s about global growth for both brands. BKC will continue to pay all of our federal, state and local U.S. taxes.

We’re proud of the heritage of Burger King and will maintain our long-standing commitment to our employees, franchisees and the local communities we serve.

The WHOPPER isn’t going anywhere.

Alaska Supreme Court rules state tax law discriminates against same-sex couples

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled today that the state unconstitutionally discriminates against same-sex couples by denying them equal access to a property tax exemption for senior citizens and disabled veterans.

The rules were challenged by the ACLU of Alaska, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on behalf of three couples who were denied full access to a $150,000 property tax exemption that Alaska makes available to opposite-sex married couples. Because same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Alaska, the state treated them as roommates rather than as families and let them get the exemption for only half of the value of their homes.

"Families in Alaska deserve better than a second-class system of laws for same-sex couples who are just as committed to each other as heterosexual couples," said Joshua Decker, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. "Our senior citizens and veterans should not have to pay more taxes just because they happen to be gay or lesbian."

The lead plaintiffs, Julie Schmidt, 71, and Gayle Schuh, 66, have been partners for 36 years, and moved to Alaska from Illinois after retiring from careers in education.

"Gayle and I built a home and a life here because we loved what Alaska had to offer," said Schmidt. "It hurt that the state that we loved so much treated us like strangers. It is gratifying to have our relationship recognized."

(via ACLU press release)

Lauryn Hill sentenced to 3 months prison for tax evasion

Ahh, I hate stories like this.  And for responsible adults who enjoy amazing success, there's really no good reason. Makes me sad.

Grammy award-winning singer Lauryn Hill was sentenced Monday to three months in federal prison for failing to pay taxes on more than $2 million in earnings during a five-year period.

From NBC Entertainment News:

Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison during a hearing at a Newark, N.J., federal court on Monday, May 6, despite paying off her long-overdue taxes just ahead of her court appearance.

According to The Associated Press, Hill will not only serve time behind bars, but will also be sentenced to three additional months of home confinement. During the hearing Monday, the singer reportedly reiterated her intentions to pay off her debt.

Hill, 37, shelled out more than $970,000 to cover the three years' worth of taxes that she owed in both state and federal taxes, her attorney Nathan Hochman told the Associated Press in an email Monday. The singer still faced up to a year in prison for each of the three tax evasion counts despite meeting the deadline, however.

In a courtroom statement, the 8-time Grammy Award winner said she had always intended to pay the overdue taxes, but found herself unable to raise the money during a period when she had dropped out of the music business.

Hill won fame as a member of the Fugees, and then launched a solo career that included the blockbuster The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She pleaded guilty last year in the tax case.

Congress passes "fiscal cliff" package by vote of 257 /167

According to the Associated Press, legislation to block the "fiscal cliff" is headed to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.

The bill will avoid, for now, the major tax increases and government spending cuts that had been scheduled to take effect with the new year.

The legislation will raise tax rates on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. That was higher than the thresholds of $200,000 and $250,000 that Obama campaigned for. But remarkably, in a party that swore off tax increases two decades ago, dozens of Republicans supported the bill at both ends of the Capitol.

The Senate approved the measure on a vote of 89-8 less than 24 hours earlier.

The measure split the upper ranks of the Republican leadership in the House.

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio voted in favor, while Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia opposed the bill. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the party's 2012 vice presidential candidate, supported the measure.

Final approval came in the House on New Year's Night. The vote was 257 to 167.

Campaign ad: No Taxes

Mitt Romney's tax returns allegedly obtained and held ransom

According to Mashable, Mitt Romney's tax returns are in the hands of hackers who plan to release them to the public unless $1 million ransom is paid.

The group allegedly obtained the files from PricewaterhouseCooper’s Tennessee office on Aug. 25, in what was described on PasteBin as a Mission Impossible-like caper:

Romney’s 1040 tax returns were taken from the PWC office 8/25/2012 by gaining access to the third floor via a gentleman working on the 3rd floor of the building. Once on the 3rd floor, the team moved down the stairs to the 2nd floor and setup shop in an empty office room. During the night, suite 260 was entered, and all available 1040 tax forms for Romney were copied. A package was sent to the PWC on suite 260 with a flash drive containing a copy of the 1040 files, plus copies were sent to the Democratic office in the county and copies were sent to the GOP office in the county at the beginning of the week also containing flash drives with copies of Romney’s tax returns before 2010. A scanned signature image for Mitt Romney from the 1040 forms were scanned and included with the packages, taken from earlier 1040 tax forms gathered and stored on the flash drives.

The files are to be released to the public on Sept. 28, according to the PasteBin document.

The hackers apparently are asking for the $1 million ransom be paid through Bitcoins, which makes tracing the funds extremely difficult.

Read more at Mashable.

Poll: Majority of Americans agree wealthy should pay more in taxes

The Pew Center has released the results of a new poll that shows 58% of Americans feel the wealthy should pay more in taxes.

In addition, Pew adds "Even among those who consider themselves upper or upper-middle class, fully 52% say upper-income people pay too little. Only 10% of this group says upper-class adults say people pay too much in taxes."

Other results of the poll show that 63 percent of those surveyed said the Republican party favors the rich. Nearly 70 percent said the Democratic party favors either the middle class or the poor.

However, it is worth noting that the vast majority of middle class respondents - 92% - say they admire the rich who get wealthy through hard work.

More results here.

Is it possible that Mitt Romney may not have paid taxes for 10 years?

The Huffington Post is reporting that, according to Senator Harry Reid, Mitt Romney may not have paid any taxes for ten years and that may be the reason why Romney has only released one complete year of taxes.

According a Bain investor, Reid charged, Romney didn't pay any taxes for 10 years.

Saying he had "no problem with somebody being really, really wealthy," Reid sat up in his chair a bit before stirring the pot further. A month or so ago, he said, a person who had invested with Bain Capital called his office.

"Harry, he didn't pay any taxes for 10 years," Reid recounted the person as saying.

"He didn't pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that's true? Well, I'm not certain," said Reid. "But obviously he can't release those tax returns. How would it look?

If this is true, it's no wonder Romney wouldn't want to release his tax returns. It's kind of hard to relate to middle America if you don't pay any taxes at all.

Read more at the Huffington Post

Ad: "What is Mitt Romney hiding?"

I keep asking this question - "What is Mitt Romney hiding?"

Why keep your tax returns secret if there's nothing to hide?

Things that make you go hmm...

Why is Mitt Romney hiding his tax returns?

The answer is Mitt Romney knows his tax returns show how he used the system - albeit legally - to avoid paying fair tax rates the way middle-class Americans do.

He will look out of touch with most Americans by using tax shelters that really only apply to the super rich.

His campaign says Romney paid the same taxes whether his money was in Switzerland or the US. If that's true, then why did he deposit his money in Swiss accounts and the Caymans?

Things that make you go "hmm..."

Poll: Most Americans say tax system favors wealthy

As some Americans rush to file their 2011 tax returns by the Tuesday deadline, a new poll shows more than two-thirds of Americans believe the revenue system benefits the wealthy while being unfair to average workers.

In the CNN/ORC survey, 68% of respondents said the current tax system benefits the rich and is unfair to ordinary workers, compared with 29% who disagreed with that view. Overall, 50% said the federal income taxes they paid were about right, with 45% saying their taxes were too high and 3% answering their taxes were too low.

More at CNN.com

Same-sex couples pay more in taxes

The lack of federal recognition of same-sex couples results in higher taxes for those couples, CNNMoney reports.

CNNMoney based their information on a series of same-sex versus opposite-sex tax scenarios it presented to H&R Block. A seemingly equal household with one working parent earning $100,000 per year and one stay-at-home parent earning nothing produced radically different results when toggled between opposite-sex and same-sex situations.

In this particular scenario, says the article, the same-sex household would owe $4,543 more tax than the opposite-sex household. This is because the “head of household” designation pushes more income into a higher tax bracket and the individual filings provide lower standard deductions than “married and filing jointly.” The gay head of household is also subjected to a tax on the stay-at-home spouse’s health insurance premiums that the heterosexual breadwinner isn’t responsible for.

Also, there are many marital exemptions given to other families for inheritance taxes and gift taxes for which same sex couples do not qualify. In addition, same-sex households receive lower tax exclusions for capital gains on the sales of a home (unless the home is jointly owned and each spouse qualifies for the exclusion).

Close the Hedge Fund Tax Loophole

Politicians currently negotiating to reduce the national debt and not wreck havoc with the US's credit rating are looking at several solutions to help bring the budget under control. President Obama and the Democrats are looking at closing some "tax loopholes" that add up to serious tax giveaways to the wealthy.

One of the tax breaks upon which President Obama has focused is a provision that allows hedge fund managers — who make billions annually — to receive a substantial tax break. This particular tax break, known as the carried-interest loophole, allows hedge fund managers to treat the money they receive from investors as capital gains, subject to a 15 percent tax rate, instead of their actual income tax bracket rate.

Though this money is a paycheck received for services, it’s treated as "return on investment" income, which is taxed at a much lower rate.

Since hedge fund managers are some of the richest people in the country, this tax break actually causes a significant loss of revenue. According to calculations by RJ Eskow, closing this loophole would raise more than $4 billion per year just from the 25 richest hedge fund managers:

The top 25 hedge fund managers in the United States collectively earned $22 billion last year, and yet they have their own cushy set of tax rules. If they operated under the same rules that apply to other people — police officers, for example, or teachers — the country could cut its national deficit by as much as $44 billion in the next ten years.

Economist Robert Reich estimates that closing the hedge fund loophole could raise as much as $20 billion a year in revenue, overall.