Trump losses may mean he didn’t pay taxes for years
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, in Manheim, Pa.
WASHINGTON >> Donald Trump’s business losses in 1995 were so large that they could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for as many as 18 years, according to records obtained by The New York Times.
In a story published online late Saturday, the Times said it anonymously received the first pages of Trump’s 1995 state income tax filings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The filings show a net loss of $915,729,293 in federal taxable income for the year.
That Trump was losing money during the early to mid-1990s — a period marked by bankruptcies and poor business decisions — was already well established. But the records obtained by the Times show losses of such a magnitude that they potentially allowed Trump to avoid paying taxes for years, possibly until the end of the last decade.
Trump’s campaign released a statement on Saturday lashing out at the Times for publishing the records and accused the newspaper of working to benefit the Republican nominee’s presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“The New York Times, like establishment media in general, is an extension of the Clinton campaign, the Democratic Party and their global special interests,” the campaign said, calling Trump “a highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required.”
The statement added that Trump had paid “hundreds of millions” of dollars in other kinds of taxes over the years.
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Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, used the Times story to needle Trump about not releasing his tax returns and contending during his first debate with Clinton that not paying federal income taxes would show he was “smart.”
Mook said in a statement that Trump apparently avoided paying taxes for two decades “while tens of millions of working families paid theirs. He calls that ‘smart.’” Mook added: “Now that the gig is up, why doesn’t he go ahead and release his returns to show us all how ‘smart’ he really is?”
Since 1976, every major party presidential nominee has released tax returns. Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years’ worth, and Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns.
But after initially saying that he would make his returns public during the course of his campaign, Trump switched course, citing what he said were years of ongoing IRS audits and the advice of his attorneys to keep them private as those audits proceed.
Former IRS officials have expressed skepticism that anyone would be audited so frequently, and they and other tax experts say there’s no prohibition on Trump releasing his returns even if he is.
In its story, the Times said the three pages of documents were mailed last month to a Times reporter who had written about Trump’s finances. A postmark indicated they had been sent from New York City and the return address claimed the envelope had been sent from Trump Tower, the newspaper said.
Trump’s campaign did not directly address the authenticity of the excerpts from Trump’s tax filings. Former Trump accountant Jack Mitnick, whose name appears as Trump’s tax preparer of the filings, confirmed their authenticity, the newspaper reported.
On the campaign trail, Trump continued to veer from scripted economic arguments to personal attacks on Clinton.
At a rally Saturday night, Trump questioned Clinton’s loyalty to her husband, adding an explosive personal charge against his Democratic opponent to a turbulent week when he repeatedly veered off script.
“Hillary Clinton’s only loyalty is to her financial contributors and to herself,” Trump told thousands gathered in Manheim, Pennsylvania. “I don’t think she’s even loyal to Bill if you want to know the truth … Why should she be, right? Why should she be?”
Trump also seized on a leaked recording from a Clinton fundraiser in February, where she expressed empathy for young voters who were siding with her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, saying that for people who don’t see any economic opportunities, the idea that “you could be part of a political revolution is pretty appealing.” The hacked recording was published Tuesday by the Washington Free Beacon
Clinton called them “children of the Great Recession” and added: “And they are living in their parents’ basement. They feel that they got their education and the jobs that are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves.”
Trump sought to turn her words into a new pitch for Sanders supporters, although Sanders himself has endorsed Clinton and denounced Trump. The businessman contended Saturday that the audio shows Clinton “demeaning and mocking Bernie Sanders and all of his supporters” and added: “To sum up, Hillary Clinton thinks Bernie Sanders supporters are hopeless and ignorant basement dwellers.”
38 responses to “Trump losses may mean he didn’t pay taxes for years”
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Does this really shock anyone ?
What difference does it make? He had some hard luck in the past, turned it around and now he’s doing great.
He’s a two bit fraud who bilked people out of millions with Trump University. He’s a loser and a fraud, and always has been. He took hundreds of millions from his father and burned it up buying giant portraits of himself and gold thrones for his house. The reason that he won’t show his taxes is because that doing that might prove to someone even as unaware as you that he’s a fraud.
Thanks for supporting Trump. He’s the best gift the Democratic Party ever received.
Klastri , if you want to make unsubstantiated misinformation go to another comment page. If there was fraud he would be in jail already with the feds hovering over him all day.
Allaha…exactly. I asked a question before w/no response from anyone.
“Did Mr. Trump BREAK THE TAX LAWS?
Donald J. Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show.
The 1995 tax records, never before disclosed, reveal the extraordinary tax benefits that Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, derived from the financial wreckage he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his ill-fated foray into the airline business and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.
Tax experts hired by The Times to analyze Mr. Trump’s 1995 records said that tax rules especially advantageous to wealthy filers would have allowed Mr. Trump to use his $916 million loss to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over an 18-year period.
No taxes……yeah, he is really pulling his way. Bankruptcy, heavily subsidized federal grants and loans and heavily leveraged debt financing.
This was a billion dollar subsidy that Donald got from the Federal government meaning all of us. Not for the real losses that were thrown on lender, investors, contractors and workers in the bankruptcy. Trumps losses were all on paper and made by over valuing assets and positions that were supposed to produce benefits in the future but should have had zero value in the present and after the bankruptcy. But that is how the system works for the Rich like Trump– he fails at 4 projects that bankrupt others and make them suffer financially, then passes the losses to other in bankruptcy, and gets money from us in the form of tax subsidies– losses he incurred only on paper– that will subsidize him to the tune of nearly a Billion Dollars. Thanks to us he turns his losses into cash. This is as much about the system as it is about Trump.
Ikefromeli – may I assume that you pay taxes and if you do, you attempt to take advantage of every deduction you can in order to reduce your tax burden? To not do so would be foolish, unless of course you enjoy giving the government more money than you owe. As long as Trump did his taxes according to the tax code then no harm, no foul. I’m sure the Clintons who are not paupers make sure they don’t pay more than they owe either. If Hillary should complain that Trump paid no taxes then she she should blame herself as a politician since she was in a position to legislate changes to the tax code.
TRUMP IS A BEAUTY QUEEN WOMANIZER.
A PORTRAIT OF THE TRUMP KIDS LOOK LIKE CHILDREN OF THE CORN.
As a US senator, Hillary Clinton could have written tax and other legislation to fix what you are whining about. But no, she didn’t. She didn’t do squat. Obama either. Stop your crying.
Fuzzy math.
how much tax did evil-hillary pay on the pay-for-audience while she was senator and secretary of state…….crickets……
The Clintons have released their tax returns and paid 33 percent. This was done a couple months ago.
looking at the federal tax table if you make over 479 thousand dollars a year it is 39% you have to pay federal taxes not 33%. they cheated by saying they gave plenty of money to charity when it was learned that they only gave 10 thousand to charity so they cheated on there tax returns.
Don’t do drugs. Do NOT do drugs. DRUGS ARE BAD FOR YOUR BRANE!!!
lets go after Hillary Clintons taxes. breaking news commenters FBI director James Comey received 6 million dollars from the Clinton defense fund, now we know why no prosecution for Hillary and her gang on e-mail scandal’s even the Clinton foundation, corruption very high in government.
Is that your IQ + the sound you make whenever you see the naked Trump statue?
Normally I’d apologize for saying such an insulting, yet funny, comment. But because you’re a racist, misogynistic, under-educated lowlife, I’ll just tell the truth:
You are a racist, misogynistic lowlife! Have a nice day! =)
I see you are talking about yourself again.
64whoareyou…you have zero legitimate proof to offer on everything you spout.
The liberal playbook says when confronted, call someone a name. The Democrats have set up the tax system so their buddies in big business can loop hole their way around paying taxes. Now the Trump is found to use the system to his benefit he is wrong? That’s what every business in the country does. everyone that wants to succeed and keep from giving the tax happy Democrat government every penny. We are not yet socialists. Not yet
64, consider the name calling by the above dirt bags a compliment.
Hey, berry… Seriously? Trump goes by the liberal playbook?
Who knew!
WE CAN’T HAVE A FIRST LADY THAT HAS NUDIES AND NO AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE DEGREE.
Only a fool would pay more taxes than he legally has to. Write-offs in real estate are legal losses offsetting income . There is nothing wrong with it.
Oh yeh!!, and this guy wants American’s to trust him with their wallets!?
This same guy who has also taken advantage of “legally” declaring bankruptcy because it was convenient for him. “Legal” for him to get out of financial collapse, over and over again; an endless practice.
And that was just his filing for 1995, imagine??
That’s why he refuses to show America what his financial status is currently, with regard his taxes, etc.
He is a con-artist who believes if he repeats himself over and over, there are people who will buy into his lies. He will make “America Great Again.”
I’ve voted for Republican’s in the past, but I’m no fool to believe in this professional crook.
This is a guy who courts religious groups to believe in him, when he actually raped a 13 year old girl who worked for his friend in Florida who ran an escourt service who had pretty much many young underage girls at that time to service his patrons like, himself and Bill C.
I’d like to see his next move to try to Bring Bill Clinton up without implicating himself.
And by the way, that rape charge has not vanished, it’s still being revisited by the Justice Department.
When I say worked, it was really like being held to do slave labor.
TRUMP IS A FRAUD.
Trump is no different than the Clintons. They know how to play the system.
The problem I have with Hilliary is she’s taken her campaign to the nether world. She and Obama’s calling card is crime, corruption, race, sex, malfeasance, incompetence and have nothing to show for years in public disservice.
What woman leader past or present would you compare Crooked Hilliary? There are none. She is totally classless.
And don’t give me that bull poop that she worked her way through life. Growing up She was riding around in Cadillacs and going to the best schools and probably doesn’t even know how to drive a car.
Her father worked. she never worked a day in her life
You’re lying. Practicing law is work. She did that for years.
Lying is not a productive way to build a fake case.
Riding coattails is ALL she has ever been good for. And shutting up most of the bimbos. Supporting Clinton says a lot about supposedly intelligent people like yourself.
You’re right berry, but klassless considers interning for Bob Truhaft, head lawyer for the CPUSA, the black panthers, and installed in the Rosewater law firm in Little Rock as working. LOL
It amuses me greatly that everything being thrown at Trump daily, is also true of Clinton. Try changing the names in any article and you’ll see.
Good on you! Most people wouldn’t find their own inability to read amusing.
TRUMP IS A FOREIGN EMPLOYER. CHINESE AND MEXICAN “AMERICAN TYPE” PRODUCTS. TIES,BOBBLE HEADS,ETC.ETC.