Wow. The real reason Trump won't release his tax returns:

[kpete]

(not sure what this all means but, Wow)





https://twitter.com/KeeganNYC/status/759195429334577152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

http://www.dailypublic.com/articles/07292016/donald-trump-star-exemption-and-tax-returns

[Thinkingabout]

1. Trump is probably not paying taxes and or is receiving money from foreign sources.

[OnDoutside]

2. Meh, not so much.

[63splitwindow]

8. What do you believe is the reason he will not release his tax returns?

[Buzz Clik]

9. +1. The comment is a bizarre non sequitur or an indication the poster has more definitive info

[OnDoutside]

37. There are lots of rich farmers here in Ireland whose

Kids get free grants to go to college because of the way their accountants structure their income. I bet it's similar with Trump.

[drm604]

55. And you think that excuses Trump somehow?

If this is true then either his yearly income is less than he would like us to believe, or he's been cheating on his taxes.

[OnDoutside]

56. Income does not necessarily equal wealth !!! That's why you have tax consultants :) It's not an

excuse, it's just reality. If you look at the Clintons, they go out their way to pay an effective tax rate of 35% iirc. Trump goes out of his way to pay Zero. And the idiots who support him have no problem with him doing that, because they hate big government anyway.

[pnwmom]

57. There may be, but they don't run for election in the US.

Tax dodging isn't seen as a good feature in a candidate for President of the US.

[OnDoutside]

58. It's either tax evasion or tax avoidance. The former is illegal, the latter is legal. For a racist

bigot, to be still in the race, this isn't going to move the needle much.

[pnwmom]

59. It might be legal but it's still frowned upon. His low tax rate might have cost Romney the election.

[OnDoutside]

61. Frowned upon, yes, but this is Donald Trump we are talking about ! It's expected that he is a

sleazebag when it comes to tax.

[OnDoutside]

35. I believe it's far more likely he's claiming tax exemptions

On his charitable donations...that he's probably not making personally, to reduce his taxes. That or the extent of his financial links to Russian interests.

[PJMcK]

20. Please explain your disdain

Thank you, OnDoutside.

[OnDoutside]

36. Put simply, he's already told us that he does everything to

Minimise the amount of tax he pays. While the above would devastatingly embarrassing for most candidates, it's water off a ducks back for Trump....you almost EXPECT him to do something like that.

It might be a reason but I doubt it is THE reason. He has far higher stakes at risk, imo.

[63splitwindow]

47. So why do you think he does not release them?

[OnDoutside]

48. As I said elsewhere, the charity donation issue and the Russian finance is far more likely. I heard

earlier that when he was last forced to divulge his income, it was in the 70s or 80s and it was about $24K, but there's a big difference between income and wealth. A friend of mine, as a self employed business owner, earned well over 100K, but only took 30K out of the company as "salary" but had put 30K of the remaining 70K into a self directed pension, tax free.

[intersectionality]

54. Look at that...

Someone who knows about taxes here - thanks for injecting some reason into this convo.

[PearliePoo2]

3. Keep digging! Bury this asshole.

The biggest blight to ever enter the political arena.

[msanthrope]

4. It means he isn't a billionaire....he needs to do his shows for income. nt

[riversedge]

5. So, maybe trumpy is broke or in Chaper 11??

[msanthrope]

7. A bankruptcy filing would be public. nt

[riversedge]

26. yes, I forgot. thanks.

[Kathy M]

6. I do not think this would matter to Don 's core supporters ... It sure would mean to others

"A STAR exemption cannot be the result of error or inadvertence —?it must be applied for and approved. This can only mean that Donald and Melania Trump’s adjusted gross income for federal tax purposes was less than $500,000, and Trump’s tax returns would reflect that fact. It would also detail all of the various tax avoidance schemes this putative billionaire uses to lower his adjusted gross income to such a low figure. In other words, it would reveal an effective tax rate of a single digit percentile; possibly less than 1%."

"Put simply, were Donald Trump to release his taxes, they’d show that he lives a billionaire’s lifestyle while paying the income taxes of a surgeon. For a guy whose entire persona is based around dominance, success, and wealth, this would be damning and embarrassing. Donald Trump applied for the middle class STAR exemption, and he provided the documentation needed for approval. He can’t release his taxes because it would put the lie to everything he purports to stand for. "

The above from second link .

I believe esp after reading this and beforehand Don has his Brand and Brand only , very little cash on hand if any ( my opinion ) My husband even said a bit ago Don reminds him of Bernie Madoff , Don is all sales .

Would also love to know who owns what percent in the buildings with his name and the investors in his latest in Washington

Is Donald Duck still out there and following Don ?.......

[renate]

52. IMO the STAR thing is a tiny bit too complicated for low-information voters, but Bernie Madoff....

Everybody knows about Bernie Madoff, how his success was all smoke and mirrors.

I think your husband is on to something. I hope people on Hillary's campaign come to the same conclusion and push it hard.

[Kathy M]

60. I hope the Madoff comparison is made ..... it makes sense , instead of being told of scam

someone hearing the comparison feels they are being scammed .

in the movie ..... I remember where they showed the made up financials , fake programs etc . I do not
see why someone could not do that again as long as the scam continues ...... Don 's taxes need to be released .

[eppur_se_muova]

10. One of many reasons, we can be sure. nt

[eggplant]

11. Income and value aren't the same thing.

(Let's start with I'M NOT DEFENDING HIM.)

As noted, the exemption is based on AGI. This would be the net money he *earned* in a given year, not how much money he *has*. Creative accounting can certainly provide enough minuses to balance the pluses, to keep the net AGI below the threshold, even with large amounts of income.

He's still a douchebag, of course.

[63splitwindow]

14. And middle income folks paid more taxes than he did. Another major reason he won't divulge.

[7962]

17. Its like people saying "the returns will show he's not worth what he says"

I cant believe how many people think your worth is in your tax returns

And i dont think he's owrth 10B either, but his returns wont show it.

I have said he's ducking for 2 reasons; he doesnt earn what he says he does, and he doesnt want people to see who he gives money to

[63splitwindow]

24. And as someone pointed out yesterday, he could clear that up by releasing ONLY pages 1 and 2

of his 1040 and Schedule A.

[eggplant]

28. Yup.

There's a lot of other info worth seeing, but just his 1040A would be damaging enough.

[secondwind]

12. This story had already been posted in DU a couple of weeks ago... yes, he's a crook

[montana_hazeleyes]

13. $500,000 is middle class?

[mjvpi]

15. Exactly. Middle of what class?

In my world $500,000 is five very comfortable incomes.

[wolfie001]

21. $250,000 per year is in the top 5% of income earners

Double that and you have captured quite a few 1%ers. I guess paying for second homes, nannies and far-flung vacations can really stretch some people's budgets. The other 99% of us can fight over the crumbs.......

[LakeArenal]

53. They've had Americans fighting over crumbs for years.. decades...

[7962]

19. In NYC, 500k doesnt get you much

A small apt can be 50k a yr itself, easily

[wolfie001]

22. In Manhattan

So, take a bus.

[montana_hazeleyes]

23. Good grief!

Didn't know that, and I live in a very expensive area of the country myself. But alas, I'm not one of the wealthy ones.

[oberliner]

32. Yes it does

Assuming you are paying 50k a year for your apartment, you are left with 450K.

Edit to add: You could also get a nice apartment in Astoria for half that price.

[7962]

40. Taxes will take quite a chunk of that. Not poor, of course.

Business Insider says take home pay for an "average" family in New York would be 170K. Thats take home pay.
State, fed, and city taxes will take about 1/2 your pay at least.
Of course you still wont be "struggling to get by" either!

[TeamPooka]

33. He gets a free apt in his building. nt

[Free-Way-Fanny]

49. Middle Class or Working Class? These terms are very flexible and are often flexed...

... for rhetorical effect. In one technical sense, "middle class" means being part of the "managerial" or "intellectual" classes. In that sense a $500,000 income is compatible with inclusion in the "middle class" - at the upper end. Often "middle class" is used as a euphemism for "working class" because it is more politically correct in an egalitarian democracy.

[TheBlackAdder]

50. While the Federal Poverty Level is around $12-14K, the real NJ Adjusted Poverty Level is $29K.

.


Yeah, that jumped out at me too. I must be on the bottom rung of middle class, yet still paying AMT.


This really screws people who live in high-cost states, especially states that are donors to other states.

Poverty and support levels, from the Fed, should be based on the area within a state the person lives.


.

[Historic NY]

16. He had to apply for it .....NY made everyone reapply a couple yrs ago to weed out illegal exemptions

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/star13/new_homeowners.htm

[Chimichurri]

18. That's huuuge. Unlike his tiny hands

[kairos12]

25. He's like Rmony, a true taker.

[uponit7771]

38. +1

[jodymarie aimee]

27. read David Kay Johnson book

He just put it out, it is all in there. He has been making the rounds promoting it.

[pistegypsy]

29. It may also partially explain why he's spending buggerall. . .

The concept is that Der Orange Hodensack knows he's in for a drubbing so he's holding back enough funds in the election pot to ensure his 'loan(s)' can be reimbursed. I don't think I've seen any evidence that he's actually 'forgiven' his contributions. Whilst a "billionaire" might shrug off 50+ million as the cost/risk benefit, there's no way the shriveled nutsack will have that magnanimity. . . He will want every penny and more back in his pocket, whatever the outcome.

[oberliner]

30. That's not the reason

Not even close.

[mopinko]

31. his property taxes are full of dirt. a free media would be digging.

that shit is all public record, including things like appealing his property taxes on drumph tower chi via the old boys network. and knocking his own properties in court.
it's out there.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

34. Either he lied to the government or he lied to the public....

One of them has an actual penalty.

[UCmeNdc]

39. K&R

[IronLionZion]

41. He can be "wealthy" while having lower income

He has claimed that his billions are in the value of his real estate holdings and his "brand". Wealthy people pay an army of lawyers and accountants to find ways to structure their wealth to look like they have less income, often as a way to minimize their tax liability.

Romney paid his financial team something like $3 million a year for this. He also had nonsense like blind trusts.

[Sunlei]

42. property tax records are public. find the county, put in his name and check.

[Laxman]

43. I Guess The Guy...

at H & R Block made a mistake filling out Trump's taxes. I wonder if Trump took the advance loan on his refund?

[sellitman]

44. We cannot dig a deep enough hole

To bury this con artist.

DEEPER!!!!!!!!!!

DIG!!!!

[Gman]

45. While this is important, school taxes would be buried in

Forms attached to the 1040 and wouldn't directly show if he were to release only the 1040. I think there are likely much bigger issues like if he paid little or no federal income tax.

[lark]

46. So much would be wrong with it (tax returns).

Good find, thanks for posting. I really wonder how much money he's getting from Russia, bet that's something else he's hiding.

[Stryst]

51. Why is it that hackers can post Leslie Jone's passport

But no one can get us the frickin' tax returns.

[apnu]

62. Ths is what I thought all along. Trump isn't worth what he says, it embarrases him.

Trump has a long history of desperatly seeking attention and approval of the wealthy class. Releasing his taxes would open the world to how 'poor' he really is. He claims he's got billions, but I bet he only has a few million.

Its not about if he paid taxes and how much. The anti-tax zealots would congradulate him for beating the system if he paid little to no taxes. We on the left would be disgusted, but then, we already are disgusted and Trump doesn't care about that.

But ti be laid bare to his wealthy peers? All the times he's mooched off the wealthy class, to be shown he's not woth even 1% of his claims? That is a shame he clearly cannot stand.