# Decade in the red. Trump taxes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 7, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640 "2019-05-07T23:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/81 "2019-05-08T22:59:05Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > What is “helpful” about linking to a silly article about someone’s taxes in 1985? > > No one, not even the IRS cares, about tax returns from 33 years ago. > > Should we take another look at Harry Truman’s tax returns from 1945? I didn’t say that _linking_ was helpful. I said I was trying to be helpful by answering a question someone asked. As for no one caring, on that we agree. If by “no one”, you mean _you_. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/82 "2019-05-08T23:03:44Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Trump is an epic, blockbuster, legendary failure. World’s worst businessman. We’re talking about somebody who repeatedly went broke running a casino, which is the business equivalent of getting lost inside a phone booth. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/83 "2019-05-08T23:09:54Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > We’re talking about somebody who repeatedly went broke running a casino, which is the business equivalent of getting lost inside a phone booth. Yes. It’s long been my assumption that when someone says ‘_I voted for Trump because he’s such a great businessman_,’ either they are completely checked out and know nothing whatsoever about Trump’s record, or they are actually saying ‘_I voted for Trump because he elevates my race above other races and I really love that but can’t admit it in public so I’ll trot out the Great Businessman rationalization_.’ ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/84 "2019-05-08T23:10:05Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > So you’re saying The Big Loser couldn’t run a business to save his life, but he conned enough people to think he could that he became a success? I don’t see that pig flying with anyone outside of his cult. I’m not sure if you were addressing me, but I simply mean that if a business success is one who makes money in business, then Trump qualifies/qualified due to his licensing deals. I’m not saying it’s admirable by any means, when it’s done based on deception. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/85 "2019-05-08T23:14:33Z")
He buys some land for about 10 million, then donates it back to the State for something like 200 million of value because he ‘could have developed it’ and realized that much from it, and gets a tax deduction for the full donation and his name on that ‘park land’ which is more like a ghost town forever ablazened on a popular commuting route to NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/86 "2019-05-08T23:14:44Z")
Trump not paying taxes goes along with his long habit of not paying contractors who do work for him. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/87 "2019-05-08T23:16:05Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > And as I recall, this was the argument Bill and Hillary used to fight against the investigations that were launched into Bill’s pre-White House days. After all, isn’t it time to ‘Move On’? The thing is, Bill was right- all those Republican investigations worked against them, and Clinton was re-elected. The difference is that the investigations into Clinton’s pre-Presidential conduct turned up jack squat\*, while the investigations into Trump’s pre-Presidential conduct are turning up enough skeletons to remake _Jason and the Argonauts_. \*He did have some trouble over a misdeed committed _while_ he was President, namely, lying under oath about _l’affiare Lewinsky_ ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/88 "2019-05-08T23:21:39Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Stuff like this is useful before an election, because it casts doubt on whether the person will perform well if they become president. > > But Trump IS President, and he has a track record. Some like it, some don’t. But at this point, even if you showed that he was the worst businessman who ever lived it won’t matter, because people are now going to judge him on what he did as President, not what he did before. > > And as I recall, this was the argument Bill and Hillary used to fight against the investigations that were launched into Bill’s pre-White House days. After all, isn’t it time to ‘Move On’? The thing is, Bill was right- all those Republican investigations worked against them, and Clinton was re-elected. > > This stuff just cements the idea in Republican’s heads that the media is in the tank for the Democrats, and that the Democrats are willing to do anything they can to hurt Trump, a sitting president. That will NOT play well with independents or even Democrats on the fence. The base loves it, but the ‘base’ makes up less than half the people you need to get elected and they aren’t going anywhere anyway. What is “this stuff”? The media trying to find stuff out about Trump? Democrats in Congress exercising their oversight powers and actually trying to discover (and prevent!) wrongdoing by the executive branch? Those seem like pretty normal and reasonable things, which aren’t going to (and shouldn’t) stop. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/89 "2019-05-08T23:27:55Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > He buys some land for about 10 million, then donates it back to the State for something like 200 million … For varying definitions of “donate”. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/90 "2019-05-09T00:00:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > “Yes, I benefited from all kinds of tax loopholes and tax avoidance. So what, everyone does it. It’s a sport. And anyway, it’s all fake.” Now you’re getting it! That shows how great he is. Not sure why you are singling him out when everyone does it. At least he’s trying to HELP America, not like Obama. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/91 "2019-05-09T00:18:34Z")
> [@Lubricious\_Integument](#): > > I remember the incident quite well … Of course, that’s why you asked for a cite. Why, I, too, will ask for a cite about things I remember quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/92 "2019-05-09T03:56:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So you’ve got this idea on how to reach Trump followers…and no idea at all on how to implement it? I never claimed we can reach Trump followers. They can’t be reached. However, I think focusing on policy, rather than Trump’s inept business practices is a more effective way to persuade the independents to vote blue. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/93 "2019-05-09T12:33:12Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > I’m not sure if you were addressing me, but I simply mean that if a business success is one who makes money in business, then Trump qualifies/qualified due to his licensing deals. I’m not saying it’s admirable by any means, when it’s done based on deception. Trump is a businessman like a shoplifter is an exporter of goods. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/94 "2019-05-09T17:33:49Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > And in 1994, and for the years in between. Somehow **D’Anconia** overlooked that. I’m sure he was just tired. > > But yeah, let’s see something more recent, such as the six years of returns requested by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. I mean, surely those will show once and for all how Trump has spectacularly reversed his previous losses, right? According to my sources (good sources, reliable sources!) he did indeed reverse his previous losses by developing (i.e.: having some lawyer develop for him) a new franchise that tapped into the market for laundering Russian dirty money. Most people think he has a reason for not disclosing his tax returns. They are wrong: he has at least two. The first one is because he was such a bad businessman. The second is because he suddenly became a successful one. ---
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/95 "2019-05-09T20:01:21Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Of course, that’s why you asked for a cite. > > Why, I, too, will ask for a cite about things I remember quite well. You are smarter than that. I clearly requested a cite for Mittens referring to people as evil and lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/96 "2019-05-09T21:10:08Z")
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the NYT story is that mysterious $52.9 million in what’s claimed to be interest income: > [@](#): > > The spike in interest income is notable because Trump reported receiving only a fraction of that interest income in previous years. By contrast, he reported $11.8 million in interest income in 1988. In 1987, Trump reported an even smaller $5.5 million, and in 1986, only $460,566, the Times said. > > …One thing appears clear, Welch said: “it’s unlikely he had a big outside investment” like bonds, because his interest income before 1989 was so much lower. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-08/trump-interest-income-taxes](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-08/trump-interest-income-taxes) The thing is, what’s the source? If he made a huge loan to someone and the $52.9 million is interest that someone was paying on the loan, there’s be an indication of that in the tax transcripts. And Trump isn’t known for making huge loans. He’s known for taking out huge loans. So the question remains: what’s the source of that big chunk of income? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/97 "2019-05-09T23:22:42Z")
> [@Lubricious\_Integument](#): > > You are smarter than that. I clearly requested a cite for Mittens referring to people as evil and lazy. If I misunderstood, I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/98 "2019-05-10T00:01:00Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Trump is a businessman like a shoplifter is an exporter of goods. Uh, okay. Why are you telling me this? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/99 "2019-05-10T00:21:20Z")
> [@Lubricious\_Integument](#): > > You are smarter than that. I clearly requested a cite for Mittens referring to people as evil and lazy. Pedantic here. Your request stems from a statement which typifies Romney’s comments as referring to people who don’t pay taxes as evil and lazy, but it did not quote him doing so. Given that his actual words describe these people as those “who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you-name-it,” that “These are people who pay no income tax.” and that “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives”, I think it’s a fair description of his view of those people (e.g. by saying that they don’t take personal responsibility or care for their lives, he has characterized them as plainly lazy, and the clear implication is that it is bad (or, if you want, ‘evil’) to be so lazy). You may reasonably disagree, but, again, it was not a quote that you were challenging, but a description. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/100 "2019-05-10T02:24:59Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Pedantic here. Absolutely. He described people who don’t take personal responsibility, calling them “takers,” calling them unnecessarily dependent on government (i.e. government paid for by the “makers”), people who have a sense of entitlement. It’s easy to connect the dots to lazy. Evil might be a shade hyperbolic but Mitt’s words were definitely not saying that those people were virtuous or honorable or any other antonyms of evil, and were definitely pejoratively stated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640.md?page=6)