MSNBC has Trump's Tax Returns. (Will show them at 9PM EST)

[TZucchini]

It's supposed to mean he's getting impeached, says people at start of thread.

The fact that you need to discuss people's reaction to the original tweet, rather than the issue itself, is quite telling.

[Mormolyce]

Turned into proof he pays taxes.

What exactly do you think that exonerated him from? If it's a good thing for him why did he go to such incredible lengths to hide it? Why is he still hiding his taxes from the last decade, the actual relevant ones?

And why did he deliberately cultivate the impression that he paid no tax in the first place?

[Dextroden]

What percent should he be paying? I'm honestly ignorant of these things.

No one knows. Some people say 20%. Some say 35%. Some say 80%.

[zenkai]

Is that considered high or low?

Obama paid 18.7%

[Dextroden]

What exactly do you think that exonerated him from? If it's a good thing for him why did he go to such incredible lengths to hide it? Why is he still hiding his taxes from the last decade, the actual relevant ones?

And why did he deliberately cultivate the impression that he paid no tax in the first place?

What exactly did this prove?

[Deleted]

Funny how you couldn't quote the back half.

I guess we knew what your opinion was before this became the nonsense it is.

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Remember folks. Investigations are proof of wrongdoing now. Remember that the next time any person that isn't Trump gets investigated.

You mean like....Hillary?

[Bodakane]

Considering the manner in which things were released, it's pretty obvious that the initial tweet was just to bait people in knowing full well how people would react to it. A clarifying tweet released shortly before doesn't have nearly as much time to circulate around social media. How many people do you actually think follow her directly, and thus would realize it was only from 2005 and go "oh, well that's not as interesting as I thought it would be, guess I won't tune in." And at this point, unless there's something truly substantive to it, it's completely pointless to dredge up bits and pieces of tax returns because the only people who are going to care about these scraps are people who want to see Trump get burned by them to begin with. At this point, I would much rather more pressure be put him his apparent nonchalance towards rampant North Korean aggression, as opposed to poking at his public image.... or simply, you know, covering something else.

I want nothing more than for Trump and Bannon (especially) to be brought up on treason charges, found guilty and put in front of a firing squad. I want the truth to come out.

What Maddow did was typical advertising. The warning tweet got to me so I didn't watch the show once I saw it was 2005 only.

I don't really see the problem.

Now had they kept trying to create narrative and lies about the return, then people would have a point.

But tweets (from people, not the leader of the free world or other members of the government) aren't anything for people to hang o to...as they are almost always advertising in one way or another.

[zenkai]

What exactly do you think that exonerated him from? If it's a good thing for him why did he go to such incredible lengths to hide it? Why is he still hiding his taxes from the last decade, the actual relevant ones?

And why did he deliberately cultivate the impression that he paid no tax in the first place?

It's pretty damn funny if you ask me, it reminds me of Birthers when Obama became President.

[Hiricine]

Well the problem we have with tax rates is that if you're going to tax income and thats all that people make, then its pretty simple. The problem is that once you start accumulating wealth (on money you've been taxed on), you start being able to make money off of that money you have, and the taxes get harder to capture. If 100% of your income is from capital gains, the income tax no longer applies to you.

If anything, this is an argument to lower income taxes (and perhaps raise capital gains etc.) on the grounds that the people who are paying in the top brackets are often not the same uber-wealthy that actually have the money.

[zenkai]

I want nothing more than for Trump and Bannon (especially) to be brought up on treason charges, found guilty and put in front of a firing squad. I want the truth to come out.

What Maddow did was typical advertising. The warning tweet got to me so I didn't watch the show once I saw it was 2005 only.

I don't really see the problem.

Now had they kept trying to create narrative and lies about the return, then people would have a point.

But tweets (from people, not the leader of the free world or other members of the government) aren't anything for people to hang o to...as they are almost always advertising in one way or another.

I had no idea you were for capital punishment, how Republican of you.

[petej0]

Mmm, yeah, not buying a word of that. For real why won't he release them? This entire controversy is due to him. Could've stopped it at any time by showing them. And this from the guy who pushed the birther conspiracy theory for years.

You don't needlessly expend political capital for no reason and undermine your own legitimacy for nothing. Not unless you are either very, very stupid or have something to hide. I can't honestly tell which it is with Trump.

Or he could just be trolling the media. There is no law that says he has to so why should he? There is no law for Congress or Senators or Judges to release theirs and they arguably have more influence because they "Create" and "Interpret" legislation. Until his tax returns are leaked and has been proven to have illicit funds, to me it is just someone bucking the system.

[Lynarii]

Can someone give me a good TLDR? Seems like a lot of nothing....

TLDR: It's a lot of nothing.

Anyone who thought that Trump was hiding illegal things by not releasing his tax returns are idiots. Just because his returns weren't made public doesn't mean that nobody in a position of authority saw them. The whole tradition of making them public was always, since long before this last election, a play on emotions. Candidates released them simply because it was the easiest way to defend against the other person saying "I released mine... what might my opponent be hiding?" It was a way to create the image of great wrongdoing without actual making an accusation.

From a public interest standpoint, the question should not be "Did Trump do something illegal?" here but "Is it okay that some of these things that he (and others) do are legal?" The tax system has a ton of loopholes and workarounds that are technically legal, but are pretty damn messed up if you actually look at what is happening. Some of that stuff SHOULD be fixed, and bringing it to the public's attention and drumming up support for reforms is a good thing. But don't try and pretend that even fixing it would get Trump arrested, you can't change the rules then retroactively convict him of breaking them.

[Dextroden]

You mean like....Hillary?

That's the joke. If being investigated was a bad sign, Hillary was a walking failure with all those investigations sitting on her name.

But, there's no such thing as consistency.

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It's pretty damn funny if you ask me, it reminds me of Birthers when Obama became President.

Already Made that comparison. People got uncomfortable.

[TZucchini]

Already Made that comparison. People got uncomfortable.

Actually, you were just unable to defend it. Not surprising given how thin the comparison is.

[Dextroden]

Actually, you were just unable to defend it. Not surprising given how thin the comparison is.

Do tell me how this proves he needs to be impeached.

[Shiftyfish]

It's well below the top tax bracket he should be paying, but of course rich people have all kinds of ways to bring their rates down.

no one's effective tax rate is the same as the rate of he highest bracket they belong to. that's literally how progressive taxes work. if your bracket pays 33% than you aren't paying 33% on your total income, you're only paying 33% on the income earned above that threshhold, and the rest is broken down and paid at the rate for the rest of the appropriate brackets and then it's all totaled up.

http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answ...ax-bracket.asp

broader explanation if needed.

[Kasierith]

But don't try and pretend that even fixing it would get Trump arrested, you can't change the rules then retroactively convict him of breaking them.

As has been point out repeatedly, something does not have to be illegal for it to be damaging. He repeatedly stated things to his supporters that could be disproven resoundingly by tax records (if they were lies), namely claims that he donated to charities and claims that he has no business ties with Russia, and even revelations about his actual level of wealth. There are other potential concerns that could come up from his taxes, but those in particular are issues that could impact his popular base, and right now he is in a particularly dangerous situation because one of the ways the Republican party can salvage the disaster of the ACHA bill is by tying the health care reform anchor around his throat and letting him drown. He can't afford for public opinion from the Republican constituency to turn against him, because Congress would not be far behind.

[TZucchini]

Do tell me how this proves he needs to be impeached.

There isn't a single person in the world that has called for impeachment as a result of Trump's 2005 tax returns.

[Shadowferal]

TLDR: It's a lot of nothing.

Anyone who thought that Trump was hiding illegal things by not releasing his tax returns are idiots.

Only an idiot would think that a 2005 tax return would tell much.

So maybe he should stop hiding his tax returns for the past couple of years...but unlike every president of this era he won't release those. Probably for the same reason he's trying to control the investigation into Russia.

[Bodakane]

I had no idea you were for capital punishment, how Republican of you.

I am for the DP in regards to treason. I mean you're putting 350,000,000 lives at risk.

As for DP for murder, I feel like there are too many wrong convictions. I also think it's a waste of a resource (human life) that could be better spent on things that give back to society, like medical testing for example.