comment: >
  
  We all know Trump is a tax fraud criminal!  Why is he walking free?  No one is above the law is to fall bull shit!
context: Highlights of the report found on other articles include:
  On their 2015 federal return, Trump and his wife declared negative income of $31.7 million, with taxable income of $0. The couple paid federal income taxes of $641,931.
  The 2016 return declared negative income of $31.2 million, with zero dollars of taxable income. The Trumps paid $750 in taxes.
  The 2017 return declared negative income $12.8 million, with $0 in taxable income. The couple paid $750 in taxes.
  The 2018 return declared total income of $24.4 million, with taxable income of $22.9 million. The Trumps paid $999,466 in federal income taxes.
  In 2019, the Trumps declared $4.44 million in total income, and $2.97 million in taxable income. They paid $133,445 in taxes.
  The 2020 return shows negative income of $4.69 million, with zero dollars in taxable income. The tax paid by the Trumps was $0 and they claimed a refund of $5.47 million. >
  
  So he is either telling the truth and is an abysmal business man or a liar and tax cheat.
  Neither is a good look.
  How can you earn $1.3m in a year in '18 and it not be taxed on that? Here, anything over about $10k is taxed and he'd have to pay half that amount in taxes. >
  
  You can show paper losses on taxes for things like depreciating real estate, or the interest portion of a mortgage payment.
  He’s a scumbag but this is pretty normal stuff. >
  
  Yeah but he said he had a positive income that year. Surely those things would have been taken out before we get to the final figure which is why he got those losses in other years. >
  
  Positive income minus paper losses for things like real estate depreciation, and stuff you can write off which is noted in the second column. There really isn’t much to this. He’s paying his taxes, he just has a good accountant who minimizes his exposure. 
  Once again, he’s a scumbag, but this article is more to rile people up who don’t understand the US tax code. >
  
  No, there are actual rules about what can qualify as a business, and what can qualify as business expenses.
  Let’s say I spend $10k a year on my Pokémon card collecting hobby (I don’t but for the sake of argument).
  These are personal expenses with no preferential tax treatment.
  But I could illegally say I have a Pokémon card trading business and claim that $10k as a business expense.
  That is essentially what Trump appears to be doing with the vast bulk of gratuitous personal expenses. Except at a much grander scale.
  The fact that he has lawyers and accountants and obfuscates his dealings doesn’t actually make them legal. >
  
  Uh, that link supports what I said? >
  
  Trump accountants: "How long and at what temperature?"
  Always cooking the books. >
  
  A CEO is hiring a COO. He's narrowed it down to three candidates a lawyer, an engineer, and an accountant, all of whom he likes equally.  He decides to call them back and ask them a single question: "What is 2 + 2?"
  Lawyer: "Well... that's a fairly complicated question with a number of nuanced possibilities. Let me get with my partners for a bit, and I'll get back to you shortly."
  Engineer [pulls out calculator]: "The answer is unequivocally 4."
  The accountant looks around, goes and closes the blinds, and in a hushed tone asks: "What do you want it to be?" >
  
  I’ve heard this joke but set up as an interview. Three accountants apply. First two answer 2+2=4. Third answers what ever you want it to be and gets the job. >
  
  “Loans to kids” which is exactly what Fred did with Donald on his “million dollar loan”… what are the rules on loans to children? Can someone just give their kids all their wealth and simply ask for a fraction in return to pay interest? No surprise that that uber wealthy in this country continue to build generational wealth, they either get sweet loan deals from the family “bank” or ask some foreign agent to “invest” in their 666 property. >
  
  …and the kids write those “interest payments” off to minimize their own taxes. Two separate parties reducing their individual tax burden from a single shared transaction is fucked. >
  
  Only five? >
  
  Thank you! This is what I was going to say. ONLY? Is like a top 5 list or something? >
  
  This looks like money laundering across the board supported by technical (& legal) loopholes. It’s extremely unlikely the source of income reported from any of his businesses is accurate and even less likely the deductions from “losses” are legitimate - but the onus is on the IRS to prove it. Tax code is fucked all the way down. >
  
  In tax court the defendant must prove that expenses/deductions are legitimate. The IRS doesn’t have to prove anything, the burden is entirely on the taxpayer. Tax court is fundamentally different from civil or criminal court. >
  
  The returns aren't complex the tax code just allows for transactions and organizational structures that evade taxation. The Judges presiding over these cases just get thrown a line by the big firms and end up taking them. The IRS is trying to use the equivalent of AA baseball team to try and beat the World Series Champs.
  Until the legal system starts asking "what is the point of this transaction other than to evade taxes?" and demands a real business reason and not just "we want to pay less taxes" it will continue.
  Oh BTW if you are reading this make sure you do your taxes right or else.... >
  
  So,….the Hobby-Loss rules don’t apply to you if you are “rich?” Looks like his real estate “business” is actually a hobby and therefore his losses are non deductible. >
  
  
  So,….the Hobby-Loss rules don’t apply to you if you are “rich?”
  
  What rules DO apply to you if you're rich? I'm having trouble finding them. >
  
  Second that! >
  
  He name is a Red Flag. >
  
  How is he still not in jail - really. >
  
  Getting away with crime is one of the few things Trump is particularly good at (also lying, conning rubes and bankrupting casinos). It’s laughable that he’s “always under audit” but never gets in any trouble. Hopefully he’s at least paid some big fines. >
  
  Almost a savant. But money buys everything. >
  
  Just five? >
  
  Only five? Must have stopped after year 1 >
  
  What a great businessman! No wonder people voted for him >
  
  Only the most smartestest of business man would lose 30 million dollars to get out of paying a fraction of that in taxes.
  Big brain play. >
  
  We have businessmen who make billions and get out of paying any taxes.  Those are the big brains. >
  
  Let’s see. . .dad loans a gazillion to kids (loan is not income). Kids invest loan that generates income for kids. Kids write off income against loan interest paid to dad. Kids have $0.00 tax. Dad’s loan proceeds are offset by real estate depreciation of properties kids used as collateral. Dad eventually forgives kids’ loans via estate plan/trust. Ca-ching.
  Or maybe dad buys Florida property and sells it to Oligarch for 400% over market. Rinse and repeat. 
  So many grifts, so little time. >
  
  wait how do you make 4.7 mil pay no taxes and get a 5.4 mil refund. >
  
  The CARES act lets you carry losses back to prior years, so it probably resulted in past refunds which carried forward to 2021 >
  
  "Each of them bears a swastika" >
  
  Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.  In the case of trumps, change that to crimes, plural.