CDZ Once again, Trump shows us he has no regard for even his own tenets - SCOTUS

[TNHarley]

I have never understood why politicians release their tax returns. Whats the point?

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

You must care some, or you wouldn't be asking me to explain it to you.

umm ok lol

 

[Carla_Danger]

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

You must care some, or you wouldn't be asking me to explain it to you.

umm ok lol

I'm glad I was able to help.

 

[Vandalshandle]

I have never understood why politicians release their tax returns. Whats the point?

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

So we know you don't like Hillary's cankles.

What about Trump's rug, or his tiny hands?

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what sort of criteria you use to judge the qualifications of a candidate.

Wait a minute! Didn't trump make it clear during the presidential debates that he has a large penis? Damn! If he didn't, just what the hell was the GOP presidential debate all about, anyway?

 

[GaryDog]

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

So we know you don't like Hillary's cankles.

What about Trump's rug, or his tiny hands?

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what sort of criteria you use to judge the qualifications of a candidate.

Wait a minute! Didn't trump make it clear during the presidential debates that he has a large penis? Damn! If he didn't, just what the hell was the GOP presidential debate all about, anyway?

I'm beginning to think that a verified photo of Trump with a tiny member MIGHT be the only thing that convinces his mouth-breathing contingent to break ranks.

 

[TNHarley]

I have never understood why politicians release their tax returns. Whats the point?

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

So we know you don't like Hillary's cankles.

What about Trump's rug, or his tiny hands?

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what sort of criteria you use to judge the qualifications of a candidate.

I don't like cankles period
Trump is a buffoon but I would rather him be in the WH.. I am voting for Johnson.

 

[TNHarley]

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

You must care some, or you wouldn't be asking me to explain it to you.

umm ok lol

I'm glad I was able to help.

I figured it was just so the political hacks would have something to bitch about while ignoring the fact that every American dodges taxes as much as they could. So, yes, thanks for that.

 

[Carla_Danger]

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

You must care some, or you wouldn't be asking me to explain it to you.

umm ok lol

I'm glad I was able to help.

I figured it was just so the political hacks would have something to bitch about while ignoring the fact that every American dodges taxes as much as they could. So, yes, thanks for that.

Those tax returns can also show a lot about their character, and whether or not they're a big fat liar....so there is that.

 

[TNHarley]

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

You must care some, or you wouldn't be asking me to explain it to you.

umm ok lol

I'm glad I was able to help.

I figured it was just so the political hacks would have something to bitch about while ignoring the fact that every American dodges taxes as much as they could. So, yes, thanks for that.

and whether or not they're a big fat liar

true

 

[Katzndogz]

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

So we know you don't like Hillary's cankles.

What about Trump's rug, or his tiny hands?

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what sort of criteria you use to judge the qualifications of a candidate.

Wait a minute! Didn't trump make it clear during the presidential debates that he has a large penis? Damn! If he didn't, just what the hell was the GOP presidential debate all about, anyway?

He didn't but why humiliate Marco Rubio any further.

 

[TNHarley]

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

You don't care about her taxes because she's not refusing to release them.

Roberton Williams, the Sol Price fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told us that there are three things we could learn from Trump’s tax returns: details about where he gets his income and how much it is; “how he’s structuring his income for tax purposes”; and what kind of deductions he takes, including charitable giving. If Trump had overseas income or foreign bank accounts, for instance, that information would be on his tax return.

Trump’s Tax Returns

Me personally, think it should be mandatory for them to release 10 yrs of tax returns

No, I just don't give a damn. I really don't understand why you cant grasp that.

So we know you don't like Hillary's cankles.

What about Trump's rug, or his tiny hands?

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what sort of criteria you use to judge the qualifications of a candidate.

Wait a minute! Didn't trump make it clear during the presidential debates that he has a large penis? Damn! If he didn't, just what the hell was the GOP presidential debate all about, anyway?

He didn't but why humiliate Marco Rubio any further.

Didn't he? "believe me" he did. Granted, the hacks make it sound like he just said it to be saying it..

 

[Elvis Obama]

So you realize I agree with you there, right?

Yes. I know that. I was amplifying, not contradicting.

I should have begun that post with "and" instead of "but." I can see how the conjunction I chose created confusion. Sorry.

So back to your mission. Can you think of anything we could discover about Trump that would stop his cult following or at least make them think, soberly, of what they are doing? Since the Washington Post announced its Team of 20 to dig up dirt on Trump, I've been trying to imagine what they could possibly find that would have any effect whatever.

It's about picking off voters on the fringes. The problem is, no one knows where the fringes are. How far into the Democrat base does the Trump coalition reach? How many people have paid little or no attention up to this point? Forget specific allusions to "bleeding" lady parts. Trump's tone alone could negatively influence the fence sitters. Or at least that's what the Hillary camp is hoping. Otherwise, it's fixed in stone. The people who know Trump and hate him will not be flipped, and his followers believe nothing but their gut. My expectation is that there will be a lot more people in the undecided middle this time around. Now we have to endure six months of ads designed to sway these people who range from the genuinely ambivalent to the genuinely clueless.

 

[320 Years of History]

So you realize I agree with you there, right?

Yes. I know that. I was amplifying, not contradicting.

I should have begun that post with "and" instead of "but." I can see how the conjunction I chose created confusion. Sorry.

So back to your mission. Can you think of anything we could discover about Trump that would stop his cult following or at least make them think, soberly, of what they are doing? Since the Washington Post announced its Team of 20 to dig up dirt on Trump, I've been trying to imagine what they could possibly find that would have any effect whatever.

What it might be I cannot predict specifically what it might be because his is a cult of personality rather than a cult of reason. Having watched folks whom I know to normally be very bright people sing that man's praises and offer exculpations for and refutations of things that with regard to any other person would be a "kiss of death," I am convinced that whatever it be that would bring the Trump phenomenon to a screeching halt will have to be "smoking gun" in nature.

I suspect that whatever it is, it'd be in the tax returns he's so cagily refused to release. I think that because as a CPA, I'm aware of the tax minimization opportunities to which Trump has alluded and of which few if any "average Joes" can avail themselves. I suspect that many of them would appear shady and/or unfair to an "average Joe" who basically gets paid, reduces the gross payment by a little bit for "this" straightforward activity and a little bit for a few others, then multiplies the payment by a tax rate (or looks up the tax amount in a table) and pays the product. (Yes that's an oversimplified depiction, but it's not that much of one.)

Wealthy folks have tax minimization opportunities that just don't seem fair. For example, if you buy a boat, you don't get a tax deduction for it. If you buy a boat that has a built in berth, head and galley, it qualifies for the mortgage interest deduction. That deduction is precisely why when you look at boat ads like these you see highlighted the words "galley" and "cabin/berth."

Don't ask me why a boat with a kitchen, a bed and a bathroom is treated (in the tax code) as though it's a vacation home, but a boat that lacks those amenities is treated like a car. I cannot tell you the logic behind that. To me, both are "rich guy" toys much as a Ferrari is. To other boat owners I know, they are also toys, but that doesn't stop any of us from taking the deduction. But when one sees Trump's boat, and considers that his interest deduction on that thing surpasses many folks' annual income, even comfortable folks kind of have to ask, "What's fair about that?"

I mean let's face facts. The deduction for "vacation home boats" is largely a boost to the boating industry. Why should the boating industry get that sort of boost? Why should boat buyers get a tax break for buying "rich guy" toys and "regular" folks get no deduction for their toys? Not even so much as something like a "general personal entertainment" deduction that is akin to the boat deduction.

Getting back to your question, however....The other day, I heard (I don't recall the source) that Trump's audit is reaching back eight years. While not strictly impossible, it's highly irregular except in certain rarefied circumstances such as when the IRS is all but convinced any of the following have occurred with regard to one's taxes and/or tax returns:

• One has failed to report 25% or more of one's income,
• One has failed to report $5K or more in foreign assets,
• One has failed to file a tax return, or
• One as committed fraud.

Based solely on what I know of Trump Organization, LLC and what I sense about Trump's character, I would not put any of the first two past him. I wouldn't presume to accuse the man of outright fraud. Moreover, seeing as the only partners in Trump Organization are Trump's (1) very few and (2) his immediate family members, the risk of collusion is considerably higher than it would be were the partners not family members. That makes the audit considerably harder to perform effectively than are audits of other businesses and individuals. The matter is made more complex because the nature of the business is real estate development and it also has an international component.

That said, the only things that may differ after the audit as compared with before the audit are:

• The return itself if the auditor find mistakes, omissions, etc. The return would be revised and what Trump would release will in all likelihood reflect the revised return and only what he did "get away with" instead of what he tried to "get away with." The IRS won't disclose anything about Trump's return, so only Trump and his tax team, and perhaps his family members will know what he tried to pull off.
• The types of statements Trump can issue. If he releases before the audit is complete, and then the IRS finds exceptions with his return/tax payment, there's no deniability of chicanery. If he releases after the audit, there'll be no awareness of what the chicanery may have been. There'll also be no awareness of whether and what the IRS deemed are exceptions/violations.

As for the returns themselves, what he filed is what he filed. That won't change. It's only what and how he'd communicate to the American people that can change depending on the audit's outcome.

 

[cereal_killer]

Couple things. Cruz had absolutely no path to the nomination when he announced Fiorina as his VP. With Trump, he is now the presumptive nominee and has promised his supporters and other conservatives that he would be releasing this list. Unlike Cruz he's going to wait until the convention to reveal his VP.

He made due on his promise (to release the list) and a lot of conservatives that were on the fence should now come forth and endorse/support him.

The only thing he needs to release right now are his tax returns.

I disagree. The only people that care about that are the pundits and media. Gives them something to talk about for a few days. Clinton, Sanders, Trump and the list goes on and on....they pay their taxes and aren't wanted for tax evasion, that's all that matters

 

[Elvis Obama]

Couple things. Cruz had absolutely no path to the nomination when he announced Fiorina as his VP. With Trump, he is now the presumptive nominee and has promised his supporters and other conservatives that he would be releasing this list. Unlike Cruz he's going to wait until the convention to reveal his VP.

He made due on his promise (to release the list) and a lot of conservatives that were on the fence should now come forth and endorse/support him.

The only thing he needs to release right now are his tax returns.

I have never understood why politicians release their tax returns. Whats the point?

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

George Romney started the tradition, and it stuck. Transparency was Romney's motivation. That and some political maneuvering. His son then screwed with that tradition, and now has zero credibility to be the one leading this drive to get Trump to comply. Transparency is popular with people who think about such things, but Trump voters are not those people.

I don't like Hillary, but this cankle stuff I don't get. She's 68. What do you expect? She was a hot hippie chick in her day, but that was a long time ago.

 

[OldLady]

So you realize I agree with you there, right?

Yes. I know that. I was amplifying, not contradicting.

I should have begun that post with "and" instead of "but." I can see how the conjunction I chose created confusion. Sorry.

So back to your mission. Can you think of anything we could discover about Trump that would stop his cult following or at least make them think, soberly, of what they are doing? Since the Washington Post announced its Team of 20 to dig up dirt on Trump, I've been trying to imagine what they could possibly find that would have any effect whatever.

It's about picking off voters on the fringes. The problem is, no one knows where the fringes are. How far into the Democrat base does the Trump coalition reach? How many people have paid little or no attention up to this point? Forget specific allusions to "bleeding" lady parts. Trump's tone alone could negatively influence the fence sitters. Or at least that's what the Hillary camp is hoping. Otherwise, it's fixed in stone. The people who know Trump and hate him will not be flipped, and his followers believe nothing but their gut. My expectation is that there will be a lot more people in the undecided middle this time around. Now we have to endure six months of ads designed to sway these people who range from the genuinely ambivalent to the genuinely clueless.

Since I'm not an angry blue collar man, I find it hard to imagine what might change the "gut" of his supporters. I actually understand what they like about him--his refreshing lack of political correctness, his candid way of speaking as if you are one of his "Buds" and the exact promises he knows people want to hear. That they are going to have good jobs again and never have to worry about Big Bad Muslims anymore, and never have to look at an illegal immigrant again. It sounds GREAT. And the best part is, he's not one of those lazy, lying politicians from Washington who has been paid off by BIG PHARMA and BIG OIL and WALL STREET.
Excuse me, LOL.

 

[TNHarley]

Couple things. Cruz had absolutely no path to the nomination when he announced Fiorina as his VP. With Trump, he is now the presumptive nominee and has promised his supporters and other conservatives that he would be releasing this list. Unlike Cruz he's going to wait until the convention to reveal his VP.

He made due on his promise (to release the list) and a lot of conservatives that were on the fence should now come forth and endorse/support him.

The only thing he needs to release right now are his tax returns.

I have never understood why politicians release their tax returns. Whats the point?

It's customary, and has been for a long time. Why should it stop with Trump? Wouldn't you demand to see Hillary's taxes? Of course you would.

It's part of the vetting process for us to see who we're voting for. Trump stated that he would release his taxes, he also demanded that Romney release his taxes. Don't you want to know if he's a liar? (I'm guessing you don't want to know)

Second, the leak of the Panama Papers, the deluge of documents detailing the offshore accounts of various foreign leaders and their relatives, underscored the value of disclosing financial information, and the wisdom of a norm in which elected officials release their tax filings as a prudent matter of course — not in the midst of a political firestorm.

Every presidential candidate should release full tax returns

I get that is has been tradition for a few decades, my question was why
People seem to focus on their rate. However, idk why people think politicians are going to treat their taxes different from the rest of America.
And I don't give a crap about cankles taxes.

George Romney started the tradition, and it stuck. Transparency was Romney's motivation. That and some political maneuvering. His son then screwed with that tradition, and now has zero credibility to be the one leading this drive to get Trump to comply. Transparency is popular with people who think about such things, but Trump voters are not those people.

I don't like Hillary, but this cankle stuff I don't get. She's 68. What do you expect? She was a hot hippie chick in her day, but that was a long time ago.

It started with "corrupt cankles" but sometimes I get lazy

 

[OldLady]

So you realize I agree with you there, right?

Yes. I know that. I was amplifying, not contradicting.

I should have begun that post with "and" instead of "but." I can see how the conjunction I chose created confusion. Sorry.

So back to your mission. Can you think of anything we could discover about Trump that would stop his cult following or at least make them think, soberly, of what they are doing? Since the Washington Post announced its Team of 20 to dig up dirt on Trump, I've been trying to imagine what they could possibly find that would have any effect whatever.

What it might be I cannot predict specifically what it might be because his is a cult of personality rather than a cult of reason. Having watched folks whom I know to normally be very bright people sing that man's praises and offer exculpations for and refutations of things that with regard to any other person would be a "kiss of death," I am convinced that whatever it be that would bring the Trump phenomenon to a screeching halt will have to be "smoking gun" in nature.

I suspect that whatever it is, it'd be in the tax returns he's so cagily refused to release. I think that because as a CPA, I'm aware of the tax minimization opportunities to which Trump has alluded and of which few if any "average Joes" can avail themselves. I suspect that many of them would appear shady and/or unfair to an "average Joe" who basically gets paid, reduces the gross payment by a little bit for "this" straightforward activity and a little bit for a few others, then multiplies the payment by a tax rate (or looks up the tax amount in a table) and pays the product. (Yes that's an oversimplified depiction, but it's not that much of one.)

Wealthy folks have tax minimization opportunities that just don't seem fair. For example, if you buy a boat, you don't get a tax deduction for it. If you buy a boat that has a built in berth, head and galley, it qualifies for the mortgage interest deduction. That deduction is precisely why when you look at boat ads like these you see highlighted the words "galley" and "cabin/berth."

Don't ask me why a boat with a kitchen, a bed and a bathroom is treated (in the tax code) as though it's a vacation home, but a boat that lacks those amenities is treated like a car. I cannot tell you the logic behind that. To me, both are "rich guy" toys much as a Ferrari is. To other boat owners I know, they are also toys, but that doesn't stop any of us from taking the deduction. But when one sees Trump's boat, and considers that his interest deduction on that thing surpasses many folks' annual income, even comfortable folks kind of have to ask, "What's fair about that?"

I mean let's face facts. The deduction for "vacation home boats" is largely a boost to the boating industry. Why should the boating industry get that sort of boost? Why should boat buyers get a tax break for buying "rich guy" toys and "regular" folks get no deduction for their toys? Not even so much as something like a "general personal entertainment" deduction that is akin to the boat deduction.

Getting back to your question, however....The other day, I heard (I don't recall the source) that Trump's audit is reaching back eight years. While not strictly impossible, it's highly irregular except in certain rarefied circumstances such as when the IRS is all but convinced any of the following have occurred with regard to one's taxes and/or tax returns:

• One has failed to report 25% or more of one's income,
• One has failed to report $5K or more in foreign assets,
• One has failed to file a tax return, or
• One as committed fraud.

Based solely on what I know of Trump Organization, LLC and what I sense about Trump's character, I would not put any of the first two past him. I wouldn't presume to accuse the man of outright fraud. Moreover, seeing as the only partners in Trump Organization are Trump's (1) very few and (2) his immediate family members, the risk of collusion is considerably higher than it would be were the partners not family members. That makes the audit considerably harder to perform effectively than are audits of other businesses and individuals. The matter is made more complex because the nature of the business is real estate development and it also has an international component.

That said, the only things that may differ after the audit as compared with before the audit are:

• The return itself if the auditor find mistakes, omissions, etc. The return would be revised and what Trump would release will in all likelihood reflect the revised return and only what he did "get away with" instead of what he tried to "get away with." The IRS won't disclose anything about Trump's return, so only Trump and his tax team, and perhaps his family members will know what he tried to pull off.
• The types of statements Trump can issue. If he releases before the audit is complete, and then the IRS finds exceptions with his return/tax payment, there's no deniability of chicanery. If he releases after the audit, there'll be no awareness of what the chicanery may have been. There'll also be no awareness of whether and what the IRS deemed are exceptions/violations.

As for the returns themselves, what he filed is what he filed. That won't change. It's only what and how he'd communicate to the American people that can change depending on the audit's outcome.

Are you saying that if Trump has failed to report 25% or more of his income, that the IRS will give him the chance to fix it? Don't you get in trouble for that or something?
I think you're right that if something really juicy about his finances comes up, it might just disgust blue collar America, but not if it's legal finnagling to pay less taxes. They'll admire him for his smarts. Who doesn't want to pay less taxes?

 

[Toro]

Of course Birfer Trump is contradicting his previous position. The man makes John Kerry look like the Rock of Gibraltar.

However, I don't have a problem with him putting out a list of judges. I think it's quite clever, actually. It appeals to conservatives, many of whom aren't sold on him.

However, the question is why would we believe him? If he changes his mind on everything else, why not this list?

He'd probably turn around and appoint his sister! lol

 

[OldLady]

Of course Birfer Trump is contradicting his previous position. The man makes John Kerry look like the Rock of Gibraltar.

However, I don't have a problem with him putting out a list of judges. I think it's quite clever, actually. It appeals to conservatives, many of whom aren't sold on him.

However, the question is why would we believe him? If he changes his mind on everything else, why not this list?

He'd probably turn around and appoint his sister! lol

He has already given himself an out--said "or people similar" when he presented it. I suppose he has to, in case the Senate won't approve anyone on the list. It would be hilarious if this supposed imploding Republican party resulted in a Democratic majority in the Senate again, and the Democrats refused to approve any of his nominees. Well, it really wouldn't be; I don't approve of that foolishness, but it would be sweet payback.

 

[Elvis Obama]

With regard to the actual point of this thread, I can't agree that Trump is doing anything wrong by releasing his list of potential SC nominees. Nor, of course, being Trump, is he doing anything right. It's all BS, like Trump himself. The Republican elite is in full meltdown mode. They are desperately trying to maintain their relevance. The want to box Trump in as much as possible, and they are the ones who requested that Trump reveal his SC picks. Trump, by complying, is creating the appearance that he is trying to be a unifier. In reality all he's doing is scamming the desperate Senate Republicans. He just spoon fed them what they wanted, without giving the matter the slightest thought. If he becomes president that list will be completely meaningless. I don't know if Trump himself is either qualified or cares enough to really give too much thought to the Supreme Court. Who knows who he'd actually submit for the Senate to advise and consent about?