magnumpi

Leakers ? Lol, he used the democratic tax system to its fullest, I suppose they could have advised Obama to shut the tax loopholes?

I must admit I have used tax incentives handed out by the Gov here in Canada to off set some of my tax and I still sleep well at night

Wintersong

Do you really not see a difference between someone with an income of, say, $100K utilising tax incentives and deductions to minimise their tax bill vs. someone with an income of $400 million taking advantage of loopholes to pay nothing at all?

scrubbedexpat099

EXCLUSIVE: Trump's 13-year-old 'rape victim' dramatically DROPS her case. Woman withdraws legal claim she was assaulted at Jeffrey Epstein sex party
'Katie Johnson's' shocking allegations first emerged in a lawsuit filed in California in April this year
She claimed she was lured to a sex party by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein where she was forced into rough role-play sex with presidential candidate
She said she was 13 when she met Trump after leaving her home in Oklahoma in 1994 to try to pursue a modeling career in New York
On Wednesday Johnson suddenly cancelled a press conference at which she was set to reveal herself for the first time
She spoke to DailyMail.com - and we have now learned that lawyers are pulling the case she filed against Trump and Epstein
She had no proof that her story is true and Trump has denied her claims
Clinton supporters had seized on the story as a possible knock out blow


Read more: Trump rape accuser drops her case | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

morpeth

I have yet to hear anyone posting say they give up tax deductions or credits so they can pay more taxes.

I am not a sociologist so why people who are very wealthy don't give more back to the community I can't answer objectively. Hard to get consensus on what is "fair share".

I agree people who are super-wealthy with money to last for generations and don't contribute more to those who are hurting, I find hard to swallow as well- especially after having lived in the Menlo Park/Atherton area for a while. But Congress has the power to change the tax code and neither party in Congress has proposed significant changes to the tax code.

dakota44

Your attempt to compare the average working person to a gluttonous billionaire who never seems to be satisfied with his wealth is laughable and insulting to those who devote every month to finding a way to manage their budget and to reasonably provide for their families.

Wintersong

We donated our car last year and didn't claim the deduction.

morpeth

First, how does one establish at what income leve should people determine they should forgo tax deductions because they are not paying what they consider a fair share ? There are people hurting in the Midwest who would consider someone making $100,000 certainly should forgo some deductions and credits to pay more of their fair share.

Second, I do know some wealthy people who aggressively seek every deduction/credit/loophole they can find to pay the least amount of taxes possible because they disagree with how government spends its money- but then donate a lot to charities they believe in. ( I doubt this is Trump's situation)

Third, from anecdotal evidence from my time in Bay Area there were many wealthy people I ran across in area I lived in, and I doubt many whether making $500,000 or $1 million or $50 million a year didnt take every loophole and deduction they could find. They may speak differently than Trump, vote differently than Trump, but it just seems that is the way most people with serious money are.

The tax code needs to be changed, perhaps an asset tax would bypass the loopholes in the tax code which politicians don't seem to want to address.

Wintersong

Probably has nothing to do with the alleged death threats and the hacking of her lawyer's email account and website.

Wintersong

Yes, the tax code needs to be changed. However, it is my personal opinion that anyone who is undeniably wealthy and yet does everything they can to avoid paying tax is categorically a total wanker. Where to draw the line between wealthy and not wealthy? I don't know... but I do know that Trump is way over it and since he's the person we're discussing here, that makes him a wanker.

Steerpike

Thanks for reminding me ... we donated a shit-load of stuff to goodwill over the past several months - closet's worth of clothing, as well as a ton of other stuff we were clearing out. The guy at the Goodwill counter kept offering us receipts for our stuff, and I declined. Not sure exactly why - it just seems cheesy to give something away and then turn around and 'claim' it. I also hate dealing with taxes, so spending an extra hour figuring out how to claim the deduction is not good use of my time ... (as an aside, I f**ing hate it when doing my taxes I find that some mutual fund had foreign income, and now I have to go through a whole extra set of steps as a result, and in the end I find that I saved $1 or similar, or that it made no difference!).

morpeth

All I am saying is that I find it illogical to criticize someone for using the tax code when we all dothe same to reduce our taxes, and singling out Trump when I have no doubt the overwhelming majority of the wealthy and politicians, maybe 99% do the same thing.

What is insulting to average working people in my opinion ( and I live in an area where workers are really hurting), is that politicians of both parties do not address the tax code that allows wealthy people to avoid taxes in these ways. Or the attitude of people who are better off who don't help those who are unfortunate directly themselves. Or people who complain about the wealthy not paying more taxes, yet themselves have more material possessions than they need, and accept poverty in their midst. I was astounded when I lived in California how often people who had money seemed oblivious to the poor and lower income in their midst.

Wintersong

Unfortunately the ones who benefit from the tax code as it is are also the ones funding election campaigns.

Wintersong

And also...

No we don't, as I already explained. I have never claimed a charitable donation as a tax deduction in my life, and have no intention of ever doing so. The hundreds of $$$ I spent while fostering rescue dogs, the hundreds of $$$ I spent cooking food for a homeless shelter, the hundreds of $$$ of car we gave away to benefit homeless outreach... none of it has ever been mentioned on my tax return, even though it could have been. I don't need or want to reduce my tax burden.

Even if that were true, he's the one who's running for president. He's the one who's setting himself up as the morally superior candidate. How likely do you think it is that he'll change the tax code from which he has so stunningly benefited?

Of course, we do know the changes he'll make to the tax code... and guess what? The biggest cuts go to the richest people. Quelle surprise.

sir_eccles

I'm not answering your question because I'm not talking about taking legal deductions to minimise taxes.

I'm talking about pretending your income is minimal while funnelling cash through your foundation. I'm talking about listing other people's losses as your own...

morpeth

Well from my own observation when I lived and worked in a wealthy part of the Bay Area most people who were doing well acted no differently in minimizing their tax bill or not contributing what they could easily afford to the well off, often living just several blocks from them- so perhaps I am not as offended by Trump as I should be- he is more obnoxious personally, but he doesn't seem much different in minimizing his taxes or not helping the poor than what I saw in the Bay Area.