# Donald Trump, tax avoider **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 27, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696 "2020-09-27T21:49:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/303 "2020-09-29T19:34:53Z")
Not to mention the near $73 million refund in 2010, which spawned the ongoing audit the following year. Was someone instructed to avoid another audit by going too far in the opposite direction? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/304 "2020-09-29T19:38:13Z")
Though $70,000 seems a big deduction for Apprentice-era hair treatments, you probably aren’t considering the high social cost of Barbicide. Slate magazine suspects foul play, but also blames political pussyfooting impeding the IRS. > **[Angry About Trump’s $750 Tax Bill? Then Let’s Fix the IRS.](https://slate.com/business/2020/09/trump-taxes-irs-democrats.html?via=recirc_recent)** > > The wealthy no longer fear the taxman. Democrats finally have an opening to fix that. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/305 "2020-09-29T19:39:27Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > If Trump (or let’s say a hypothetical person called “Drumpf”) personally owes a mountain of debt to entities then not having any significant _personal_ assets is the smartest thing he can do. @Chronos funny jab notwithstanding, having less worth than uncontacted Llma herdsman is smart move. Since that makes suing to recover from you > functionally impossible. He still has things, items, real estate in his name that can be take from him. He enjoys the appearance of wealth, the trappings of it. This will be taken away from him. If you have a 20 million dollar house, is it smart to be 40 million in debt? By your standards, sure, as you are “getting one over” on the bank, and coming out 20 million ahead. But, since you lost that 40 million through incompetence, it’s not really smart, it’s just lose lose. He also is in a position to trade favors as the President of the United States in exchange for forgiveness of his debts. > [@AK84](#): > > That’s…almost the opposite of money laundering. 🤦🏻‍♂️(Money dirtying?). > Money laundering is **not** income without obvious source or use. It is using legitimate sources to account for income or profits which otherwise have been earned illegally. Right, and that’s why it does look like money laundering. He has properties that are the fronts. They are the “legitimate” sources that are used to account for the income. On a closer look, it turns out that the money coming into those properties may be questionable. That’s why he doesn’t want anyone to see his finances, I’m sure there are a number of revenue streams that would be questionable if looked at closely. > [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Essentially, they are lying to us when the omit certain things so they can crank up their propaganda machines What did they omit? > [@asahi](#): > > I also think it’s false to assume that this is what wealthy people pay in taxes -that wealthy people can earn billions of dollars and use smart accountants to pay zero in taxes year after year. AFAIK, that is simply not true. People keep comparing this to Amazon. While it is true that Amazon did not pay much in the way of taxes because of various depreciations and the like, while we do not have Bezos’s taxes, I would assume that he actually paid quite a bit on what he took home. I have a corporation, and because I typically invest most of my profit back into it, it doesn’t pay much in taxes. However, the money that I take out for my own personal use, I do pay more or less straight taxes on. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/306 "2020-09-29T19:45:37Z")
@K9bfriender, agreed, and I think I said something to that effect either here or another thread. But there’s a difference between a company not realizing a profit that still gets lines of credit and investment capital, and a company like Trump. We know that Amazon wasn’t making profits, but we also know that they were growing in value, at least in the eyes of shareholders. The difference between the Amazons of the world and Trump’s organization is in the transparency. The same is true in terms of comparing Trump to other candidates: Trump isn’t transparent; his challengers have been. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/307 "2020-09-29T19:49:33Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > What I don’t understand is how anyone could pay $2,000 to have their hair look like _that_ ? Consider what he’s working with! They probably did the best anyone could. Maybe it could be a deduction while he’s on a TV show, but just for being a well known person it shouldn’t be. Maybe it is, but it shouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/308 "2020-09-29T20:02:40Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > My state has a “Tax The Rich” ballot referendum that I will vote for. Trump the cheating con man can be the poster boy for why a “yes” vote is the way to go. 750 dollars. Good fucking god. > [@bobot](#): > > Biden should start the ads now. “How much did _you_ pay? Trump paid 750 dollars, when he paid anything.” > [@Velocity](#): > > For things like investments or various other means of generating wealth, sure, I could believe that. But how could Trump possibly not be paying big taxes on his $400,000 presidential salary? That, if nothing else, would surely force him to pay the same hefty local income taxes that any other Washington D.C. resident, living in Washington D.C., would have to fork over for that sort of salary, be they an executive at Northrop Grumman or a surgeon at some hospital. > > (Edit: I plugged in an income tax calculator and it said a DC resident should be paying around $31,000 on a $400k presidential salary income, although that was single filing, not married. Nevertheless, far more than $750.) That’s the first page of No one. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/309 "2020-09-29T20:05:35Z")
Haha true! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/310 "2020-09-29T20:06:11Z")
OK, first of all, how is it that the two times he paid any taxes, it was both the exact same round number? That’s a mighty big coincidence, and surely evidence (not conclusive, but still very strong) of cheating. Second, the consulting fees to his daughter are definitely cheating. Third, it’s moot anyway, because we’ve known he was a tax fraud since before the election. Remember the Trump Foundation? You know, before it came to light that it didn’t exist? Claiming charitable deductions for a charity that doesn’t exist is absolutely illegal tax evasion. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/311 "2020-09-29T20:07:24Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Lol @ those arguing that the man who had his charitable foundation shut down for fraud is being honest on his taxes. 😂 Don’t forget his University. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/312 "2020-09-29T20:07:46Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > What I don’t understand is how anyone could pay $2,000 to have their hair look like _that_ ? Is anybody considering that he may have his hair 3-D printed ? That’s still not necessarily inexpensive. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/313 "2020-09-29T20:18:44Z")
Maybe some sort of plugs/hair club for men type stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/314 "2020-09-29T20:23:54Z")
> **[TaxProf Blog: Tax Court Denies Deduction for TV News Anchor's Clothing Expenses](https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2011/02/tax-court.html)** > > The Tax Court yesterday denied business expense deductions claimed by a TV news anchor for her wardrobe and other personal expenses and sustained accuracy-related penalties. Hamper v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2011-17 (Feb. 25, 2011) (citations... A TV news anchor was not able to deduct her clothing. Even though her job specified “business wear” and she purchased clothing specifically to appear on television, “such costs are not deductible even when it has been shown that the particular clothes would not have been purchased but for the employment.” The story concludes: “[The court also denied her claimed deductions for business gifts, cable television, car expenses, cell phone, contact lenses, cosmetics, gym memberships, haircuts, Internet access, makeup, manicures, meals, self-defense classes, satellite radio, subscriptions to newspapers and magazines (Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Newsweek, and Nickelodeon), and teeth whitening.]” It looks like the determining factor is not that you used it on-air and nowhere else, but whether it was not suitable for personal use. Since Donnie Two Scoops carries his dead ferret with him at all times, I don’t think his hairstyling qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/315 "2020-09-29T20:30:30Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > That’s the first page of No one. None of those people are confused, “that people actually want to try and keep as much money as they make as they can.” Why on Earth do you think that? It’s a ridiculously tall pile of obvious bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/316 "2020-09-29T20:47:41Z")
It got you talking about something other than his taxes, didn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/317 "2020-09-29T21:06:50Z")
Doubtless they’re going to hammer Trump about his promise to release his tax returns. > **[Biden, Harris Release 2019 Tax Returns Hours Before The First Debate](https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/918281941/biden-harris-release-2019-tax-returns-hours-before-the-first-debate)** > > Biden released the return and disclosure just hours before the first presidential debate, where President Trump is expected to face questions over his tax returns. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/318 "2020-09-29T21:44:54Z")
And doubtless Trump is going to go right back at Biden for his supposed ‘corrupt connections to Ukraine’ and his unwillingness to change the tax code by himself. Biden should study the debates with Clinton, especially the one right after the Access Hollywood hot mic revelations. Everyone knew Hillary and/or the moderators were going to bring that episode up, and Trump went right back at Hillary for her “acid wash” of those emails. That was the infamous “'_Cause you’d be in jail_” debate. Trump is very likely going to go after Biden in similar fashion and may make similar threats. Biden: "It’s unbelievable that you don’t pay any taxes. I bet people at home watching this pay more than you do in one year than you – Trump: "Oh yeah, excuse me – Biden: “You don’t even” Trump" “Do I get to respond or what?! Excuse me, Sleepy Joe.” Biden: “There you go with the insults again. Sheesh.” Trump: Look, I use the tax code to my advantage. I’m smart. All good business people use the tax code to their advantage. Smart business guy, went to Wharton, okay? Ivy League. You graduated at the bottom of your class at a no name school. That’s why you don’t understand how business and the tax code works." Biden: "Look, everyone understands that you if you’re not payin taxes and claim to be a billionaire, then there’s something fishy goin on here. Trump: The only thing that’s fishy is your son’s business in Ukraine and your influence as president in Ukraine. You guys used the Oval Office to make a lot of money and my Attorney General is investigating that right now! In fact, my Attorney General is going to make an announcement soon about what he’s found. It’s unbelievable. I think there will be a criminal indictment coming. You won’t have to worry about winning or running for office because you’re going to be going to jail for what you did to cover up your son’s shady deals in Ukraine and also for spying on my campaign!!!" ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/319 "2020-09-29T21:49:53Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > And doubtless Trump is going to go right back at Biden for his supposed ‘corrupt connections to Ukraine’ That can be cut off before it even starts: “Hunter is not the one running for office!” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/320 "2020-09-29T21:51:59Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I am more concerned about him personally guaranteeing $400million that is coming due. Who loaned him the money and is he willing to sell out the country to avoid paying? Now we know why 200,000+ people had to die. It wasn’t just the usual Trump incompetence and irrationality. It wasn’t to protect the economy he ‘created’ in order to secure his re-election, but that certainly played a role. The biggest danger Trump faced were the lengthy lockdowns. Turning off the money spigot at Trump properties and resorts brought him closer to the brink of financial disaster and those massive, personally garuanteed loans are coming due. Of course his money and stature was the primary concern; why would anyone think there were any noble considerations or empathetic motivations? So so sorry about grandpa and grandma, friends and neighbors. But they died for the greater glory of Trump, so that’s something. Vote Family Values! Vote Republican! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/321 "2020-09-29T22:02:42Z")
They will try to shut Trump up, but he will keep going. He will be swinging wildly like Deontay Wilder, just looking for the knockout. Biden: Look that’s malarkey and everyone knows it, and Hunter’s not running for office anyway. Trump: I know Hunter isn’t running for office; he’s taking money from Ukraine and he’s bribing Ukrainian officials – or he was until my office put a stop to it. Obama’s administration let you get away with it but I won’t. Big announcement coming soon - people are going to be stunned by what we’ve found. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696/322 "2020-09-29T22:04:50Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > They will try to shut Trump up, but he will keep going. He will be swinging wildly like Deontay Wilder, just looking for the knockout. There is a way to get him to start stammering. “You forgot which Biden you’re debating!?” Trump cannot handle anyone implying him to be less than perfect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-tax-avoider/921696.md?page=17)