BREAKING: Trump pursued 'legally dubious' scheme to avoid taxes

Trump pursued 'legally dubious' debt-for-equity swap to avoid taxes, NYT reports
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Donald Trump used a tax avoidance maneuver so "legally dubious" that his own lawyers advised him the Internal Revenue Service would consider it improper, the New York Times (NYT) reports.

The NYT said it had newly obtained documents related to the Republican presidential candidate's tax affairs from the 1990s—a time at which Trump was attempting to stave off financial ruin as several of his casinos went bust—that shows he potentially swapped canceled debt held by the bankrupt gaming houses for "partnership equity."

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on October 8, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The newspaper previously reported that Trump declared a $916 million loss on his tax returns in 1995, which would have allowed him to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over the next 18 years.

It said such a debt-for-equity swap was likely vital to allowing Trump to keep the tax benefit of that huge loss. Although the NYT's main report implies strongly but does not specifically say that Trump undertook the tax avoidance maneuver, an accompanying interactive graphic alleges that he did.

The law that allowed such a swap was banned by Congress in 2004, with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton among the congress members who voted to do so...

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/01/trum...r-equity-swap-to-avoid-taxes-nyt-reports.html
 
So he maybe or maybe not used this tactic 21 years ago, during the Clinton administration, and the IRS did not object apparently, but now it is news. That is stretching a bit.

This was the same time period when Hillary Clinton was destroying evidence of corruption, lying to grand juries and attacking women her husband had assaulted, but we don't hear much about that.
 
Trump pursued 'legally dubious' debt-for-equity swap to avoid taxes, NYT reports
CNBC.com staff | @CNBC
1 Hour AgoCNBC.com
92COMMENTS Join the Discussion

Donald Trump used a tax avoidance maneuver so "legally dubious" that his own lawyers advised him the Internal Revenue Service would consider it improper, the New York Times (NYT) reports.

The NYT said it had newly obtained documents related to the Republican presidential candidate's tax affairs from the 1990s—a time at which Trump was attempting to stave off financial ruin as several of his casinos went bust—that shows he potentially swapped canceled debt held by the bankrupt gaming houses for "partnership equity."

104064544-GettyImages-491877022.530x298.jpg

Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on October 8, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The newspaper previously reported that Trump declared a $916 million loss on his tax returns in 1995, which would have allowed him to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over the next 18 years.

It said such a debt-for-equity swap was likely vital to allowing Trump to keep the tax benefit of that huge loss. Although the NYT's main report implies strongly but does not specifically say that Trump undertook the tax avoidance maneuver, an accompanying interactive graphic alleges that he did.

The law that allowed such a swap was banned by Congress in 2004, with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton among the congress members who voted to do so...

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/01/trum...r-equity-swap-to-avoid-taxes-nyt-reports.html

Trump is going to win this. Even in massively rigged polls he's now ahead.

No matter how much old dirt they throw at Trump now, it only makes the Clinton camp and their media whores look worse and worse.
 
The nytimes 'implies' but does not say he used it, cnbc goes ahead and says that he 'used' it. Nice reporting cnbc.

If he used it back then, it was legal. The article says so.

They've got him really good this time. Stating definitively that he used a tax avoidance scheme that they don't know that he used and that was legal when he used it. Unfit for office! lol
 
I agree that this is poor reporting. Either it is legal or it is not, and "dubious" is part of an opinion piece, not journalism. My understanding is that it was legal at the time.

That said, imo, we should understand how the tax law sausage is made. To me, this sort of thing is disgusting. I don't understand the thinking of law makers as it relates to how this makes the system fair for all, or what social service it provides when people abuse it.

Since it furthers our understanding of how Trump was able to avoid huge sums of Federal taxes, I am all for the reporting, flawed or not.
 
I agree that this is poor reporting. Either it is legal or it is not, and "dubious" is part of an opinion piece, not journalism. My understanding is that it was legal at the time.

That said, imo, we should understand how the tax law sausage is made. To me, this sort of thing is disgusting. I don't understand the thinking of law makers as it relates to how this makes the system fair for all, or what social service it provides when people abuse it.

Since it furthers our understanding of how Trump was able to avoid huge sums of Federal taxes, I am all for the reporting, flawed or not.
Drumpf's business with Russian companies (and elsewhere) should be a lot more troubling, really. If he's elected his entire term will be full-time conflict of interest investigations, and nothing will get done.
 
Drumpf's business with Russian companies (and elsewhere) should be a lot more troubling, really. If he's elected his entire term will be full-time conflict of interest investigations, and nothing will get done.
Wait, did I miss something? He vehemently denies any business in Russia. The FBI has investigated him and finds no clear Russia ties.

Do you have a link with new info?
 
Wait, did I miss something? He vehemently denies any business in Russia. The FBI has investigated him and finds no clear Russia ties.

Do you have a link with new info?
The mail server sitting in Drumpf Tower has been confirmed by many IT analysts to be in communication with a Russian bank server. Only the metadata is known, not the content. But even so it contradicts Drumpf's claims he "has no ties".
 
The mail server sitting in Drumpf Tower has been confirmed by many IT analysts to be in communication with a Russian bank server. Only the metadata is known, not the content. But even so it contradicts Drumpf's claims he "has no ties".
:wtf: Do you have a link to this story? I never even heard of it?
 
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