Leslie

And there is tax fraud.

morpeth

Ok fair enough some people pay more tax than they need to because they may not know how to structure their taxes deductions etc. But I think the intent of my words is obvious - who pays more taxes that they have to : if you know of a deduction or credit do you not take it ?

morpeth

Being again Trump shouldn't mean against logic- who wants to pay more tax than they need to ? Trump is in real estate business which has a lots of ways to reduce taxes through depreciation etc.

Tax evasion another matter, is there any evidence that Trump has engaged in tax evasion ?

I am still curious- do you voluntarily pay more taxes than you need to by not taking a tax credit or deduction ?

morpeth

Exactly !

Though I find it amusing Trump willingly admits to making donations to gain favors, then criticizes others for "pay to play..

sir_eccles

"not paying more than you need to" =/= paying $0

celticgrid

I think a big difference between Buffet and Trump is that the latter cannot bear to lose. I think it would keep him up at night if he thought he had paid 1c more tax than he needed to, and he would be almost obsessive about getting it back - whatever the cost of doing so! That's a general trait that I do not think would be good to have leading the country.

Nutmegger

This is quite an amusing trip down memory lane. http://http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/10/the-insane-things-youveforgotten-about-trumps-campaign.html

sir_eccles

Exclusive: The Democratic National Committee Has Told the FBI It Found Evidence Its HQ Was Bugged | Mother Jones

something something Watergate

morpeth

So what should he pay ?

If you had a choice of paying $0 taxes for whatever reason, would you instead pay $2,000 because you thought it was unfair to pay -0- taxes?

Trump has a lot of negatives one can point out or debate, but let's be serious who would pay taxes if they knew they didn't need to ?

The shame is on Democrat and Republican lawmakers who permit all this.

sir_eccles

It's called a social contract, you pay your fair share. Trump is going beyond minimizing his taxes by say making more charitable contributions (which apparently no one has found any evidence that he personally has made any of, his foundation apparently makes contributions using other people's money), he is going beyond paying himself a modest salary that is fair and reasonable for the position, etc...

I'm not a tax lawyer so I can't say if his actions are legal or just beyond legal. Lots of the commentary I've read suggests he has gone beyond the spirit of the law if not the letter. If a supposed billionaire is paying $0 taxes that's more than just exploiting legal loopholes.

Giantaxe

Difficult to know what he "should pay" given the he won't release his tax returns and also claims he's always under audit.

Anyway, to me it's the bigger picture that counts. His tax plan would cut taxes for the "rich" significantly and leave us with a gaping budget deficit again. Why should we trust on taxes someone who seems not to pay any income taxes and whose tax plan favours the segment of the population he claims to be a member of?

sir_eccles

Pretty sure we know why he is always under audit.

Leslie

Too bad the IRS doesn't have as many leakers with an agenda as does the FBI.

Wintersong

Yes - if I was a billionaire, you can bet your a$$ I'd be making sure I paid my fair share of taxes. Just because you *can* pay no taxes, why does that mean you should? Locating every tax loophole you can find to avoid paying your share of taxes while living in the lap of luxury is the very definition of gluttony and it's downright disgusting.

morpeth

I still ask if you can pay -0- tax by taking a deduction , or pay $2,000 by not taking a deduction, what do you do ? Do you pay $2,000 because you would feel guilty not paying tax one year ? Why would you expect to him do something you wouldn't do ? Why do you avoid answering this question ??If you voluntarily more taxes than what you need to pay I give you all the credit in the world.

I do know wealthy people who have years they pay no taxes especially if they are involved in real estate, so that doesn't completely surprise me.

I am not a tax lawyer either though I have dealt with a lot of tax structuring issues involving businesses. I do agree with you that based on the commentary out there, and his own attitude, I wouldn't be surprised if he pushes the envelope on his deductions and how he runs his foundation. Having a foundation buy a huge portrait of himself as was reported does seems like a potential red flag to me.

While there seems like there are various issues involving the Clinton foundation that one might wonder about, at least the Clinton foundation did do a lot of good work.