Republican Election 2016 - Donald Trump Megathread [OFFICIAL]

[Elegiac]

It's not abusing a system, it's made like that for a reason. It's not like that only in the USA.
Everyone does that and everyone should do that because they are supposed to do that. It's done to benefit the economy and save people's jobs too.

Except for the simple fact that it does -neither- of those things.

It being the 'norm' for high earners doesn't make it any less despicable.

[BrerBear]

For the past several years conservatives have been trash talking lower middle class and poor people for paying little or no taxes. It was especially big in the 2012 election. They've been angry that people receive tax breaks or welfare, claiming they aren't contributing enough to the country. Basically they consider almost half the country to be leeches.

So when it turns out their present day hero is even worse it's another spotlight on their rampant hypocrisy. Not only is Trump avoiding taxes, but he's using other people's money to support his lifestyle. He's even scamming his supporters for his campaign and they just keep giving him money.

You're absolutely right.
Guess who chimed in during 2012 about how bad it was that so many people weren't paying taxes... Of course, Donald Trump.

HALF of Americans don't pay income tax despite crippling govt debt...
http://plu.gd/qLa

[Wulfey]

Trump admits he has been under audit for at least 15 years. There is no reason to think Trump is on the up and up here. That the IRS hasn't been able to nail him doesn't mean he isn't cheating. Only full disclosure will reveal whether his claimed deductions were valid.

[LilSaihah]

Trump admits he has been under audit for at least 15 years. There is no reason to think Trump is on the up and up here. That the IRS hasn't been able to nail him doesn't mean he isn't cheating. Only full disclosure will reveal whether his claimed deductions were valid.

Are you suggesting that the IRS is not capable of examining Trump's tax returns and telling whether he's breaking the law or not, while the general public is? Come on. This is Hillary's kill-list level of ridiculous thinking.

[BrerBear]

Are you suggesting that the IRS is not capable of examining Trump's tax returns and telling whether he's breaking the law or not, while the general public is? Come on. This is Hillary's kill-list level of ridiculous thinking.

Yes.
We've been through the issue before in this very thread.
The IRS is overburdened and having its funding regularly slashed.
The IRS has already missed the improper and illegal donations Trump's Foundation made. Those were found by reporters, not the IRS.

And if you're going to suggest that government alone is perfectly capable of finding wrongdoing, I've got a lot of anti-Hillary FOIA spelunking organizations you should probably start criticizing.

[Deleted]

Except for the simple fact that it does -neither- of those things.

It being the 'norm' for high earners doesn't make it any less despicable.

It's not for high earners, it's for companies!

It's how it works in the whole civilized world, changing it would mean killing much more companies and making people lose jobs/crash the economy.

[Elegiac]

It's not for high earners, it's for companies!

It's how it works in the whole civilized world.

We are not talking about corporate taxes, we are talking about income and capital gains tax.

[Wulfey]

Are you suggesting that the IRS is not capable of examining Trump's tax returns and telling whether he's breaking the law or not, while the general public is? Come on. This is Hillary's kill-list level of ridiculous thinking.

Does DJT deserve the benefit of the doubt here? Consider the available facts.

The 1995 release contradicts "The Art of the Comeback" where he suck his creditors with all the losses and made them take haircuts. Those haircuts would come up as positive income. Not seeing those.

At least 15 years of audits (see debate admission).

Trump has a large and aggressive legal branch that threatens lawsuits on the drop of a hat (see threatened suit against NYT for publishing the returns).

And Trump has a long and well documented history of stiffing people he owes money ("If I don't like the service, I don't pay", and DJT doesn't like the government).

The IRS's ability to force payment in the face of skilled delaying tactics is less than you may think (see significant attrition at IRS right now).

EDIT: the big one, Due Process in the face of skilled legal opposition moves much slower than NYT leak reports.

That is enough facts to take the negative inference until Trump comes clean.

[DeadmanWalking]

Please, Hillary talks about her genitals all the time. What do you think all this 'woman in the whitehouse' talk is?

So 'The first African American in the white house' Is also talking about genitals? This isn't a reach, this is pure bullshittery.

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I just came to the conclusion that republicans don't give a shit about fiscal responsibility.

They are going to have to stop giving a shit about a lot of things now that he is the head of the party because he doesn't know what the party policies are because he has never been a republican. He is against the war in Iraq and the Republicans maintained right up to this argument that the WMD's were real and we had to go in, now he says it shows bad judgement and since Mike Pence voted for it he is basically saying the guy who could replace him has bad judgement.

[kail]

Well A) Trump saying "I'm smart" for not paying taxes is indirectly calling every tax paying American stupid.
And B). How can trump be saying taxes are too high when he pays zero? Does he expect the government to pay him instead? (Obviously yes)

Point A is a little ironic in that he doesn't pay taxes because of his income loss with his businesses. So I guess he's saying that those who fail in their business venture or report consistent losses are "smart". Does he compare himself to Elon Musk?

[Moralgy]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/talk-sex-...-election.html

"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?"

A chronic cheater is trying to say Clinton is not loyal to her husband. What the hell this election.

[Tijuana]

Point A is a little ironic in that he doesn't pay taxes because of his income loss with his businesses. So I guess he's saying that those who fail in their business venture or report consistent losses are "smart". Does he compare himself to Elon Musk?

We don't even have the facts on that 1995 return. All we know is that that loss, that year, entitled him to potentially 18 years of not paying taxes. We don't know if he did or not but, it's also a silly figure anyway. If he made 600 million the year after, well the tax credits would have all gotten eaten up. So this is just a blatant smear to say he didn't pay taxes for 18 years, like the NY Times is claiming.

That said, to all of you think that its mean to use the tax code, let's take a look at yours. Have you ever in your life voluteered to pass up on a deduction "because it's the right thing to do"? GIVE. ME. A. BREAK. I guarantee not one person in this thread can claim they voluntarily paid extra taxes.

Also, paying taxes is not charity. It doesn't make you a good person to pay extra. It makes you dumb. Bill Gates has never paid extra, I assure you. Nor has Warren Buffet. Nor with either of them ever do that even one time.

[Elegiac]

We don't even have the facts on that 1995 return. All we know is that that loss, that year, entitled him to potentially 18 years of not paying taxes. We don't know if he did or not but, it's also a silly figure anyway. If he made 600 million the year after, well the tax credits would have all gotten eaten up. So this is just a blatant smear to say he didn't pay taxes for 18 years, like the NY Times is claiming.

Why then is he so reticent to release his financial information?

[Edge-]

Why then is he so reticent to release his financial information?

Because his lawyers told him not to and he's good at listening to advice.

Except when it comes from his campaign or the GOP : D

[Tijuana]

Why then is he so reticent to release his financial information?

Because he is likely that asshole that fights for every penny and every year they tell him he didn't pay enough. I'm not here to defend Trump. I'm here to fight against this RIDICULOUS notion that nice people give extra on their tax returns. Using the deductions that are legally passed by congress is not cheating. When Trump says he is smart for paying the least amount of taxes he legally can, he is 110% right. The only people that think that isn't right, are partisan hacks and journalists. But not one of them, at any point in their life, has paid extra. Nobody pays extra.

[Noxx79]

Because he is likely that asshole that fights for every penny and every year they tell him he didn't pay enough. I'm not here to defend Trump. I'm here to fight against this RIDICULOUS notion that nice people give extra on their tax returns. Using the deductions that are legally passed by congress is not cheating. When Trump says he is smart for paying the least amount of taxes he legally can, he is 110% right. The only people that think that isn't right, are partisan hacks and journalists. But not one of them, at any point in their life, has paid extra. Nobody pays extra.

Fine, then taxes are not too high. Taxation of the rich is clearly not a problem, as it's apparently imaginary.

[May90]

It's not abusing a system, it's made like that for a reason. It's not like that only in the USA.
Everyone does that and everyone should do that because they are supposed to do that. It's done to benefit the economy and save people's jobs too.

It is using the loopholes in the system for your company's and your benefit. While legal, it definitely wasn't supposed to be used this way. Trump isn't just a businessman, he is a presidential candidate, so some raised standards are applied to him.

Again, like I said, I don't think this should be a topic for discussion in the presidential race at all: it is his private business, as long as he isn't breaking any laws. That said, he certainly doesn't appear like someone who one would want to see at the head of economy. His actions are pretty much screaming, "I'm going to use the position for my personal benefit!"

[Tijuana]

Fine, then taxes are not too high. Taxation of the rich is clearly not a problem, as it's apparently imaginary.

What do you want? You think they should pay extra? You think they should disregard the tax code and just pay more than they are required? Like...for real you think that?

Look, it's one thing to say we should get rid of the deductions (so called loopholes), but it's another thing entirely to expect people to just ignore deductions they qualify for. NOBODY is doing that. Nobody ever has done that.

I have only heard one candidate in this election cycle that wants to get rid of loopholes. It's not Hillary Clinton.

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It is using the loopholes in the system for your company's and your benefit. While legal, it definitely wasn't supposed to be used this way. Trump isn't just a businessman, he is a presidential candidate, so some raised standards are applied to him.

Again, like I said, I don't think this should be a topic for discussion in the presidential race at all: it is his private business, as long as he isn't breaking any laws. That said, he certainly doesn't appear like someone who one would want to see at the head of economy. His actions are pretty much screaming, "I'm going to use the position for my personal benefit!"

Standards that go back to 1995? You think Trumps taxes should be held to a higher standard, as defined by you, and then going back to 1995? (the current news topic is his 1995 returns)

No. Just....no. We all have the same tax rules. Not one American in the history of this galaxy has ever knowingly left a deduction on the table. Taxes are not a charity, they are a bill. Do you pay extra to your utility company?

[Noxx79]

What do you want? You think they should pay extra? You think they should disregard the tax code and just pay more than they are required? Like...for real you think that?

Look, it's one thing to say we should get rid of the deductions (so called loopholes), but it's another thing entirely to expect people to just ignore deductions they qualify for. NOBODY is doing that. Nobody ever has done that.

I have only heard one candidate in this election cycle that wants to get rid of loopholes. It's not Hillary Clinton.

Why does trump want to get rid of the loopholes he himself uses, that's pretty stupid, I thought he was smart? Again, youre not denying that taxes aren't too high.

High taxes on the rich are clearly not a problem in the us, so it's is ok to raise taxes on them.

[Tijuana]

Why does trump want to get rid of the loopholes he himself uses, that's pretty stupid, I thought he was smart? Again, youre not denying that taxes aren't too high.

High taxes on the rich are clearly not a problem in the us, so it's is ok to raise taxes on them.

What does this have to do with anything I was discussing again?

I love how you little scamps just automatically assume anyone who says something you don't like, is 100% polar opposite to you on all your views. It doesn't work that way.

All I have been posting about, is that it's just crazy talk to be mad that people take legal deductions. If you want to get rid of the deductions, great. But, taking the existing deductions is not a crime, and there is nothing morally wrong with doing that.