Democrats forced Trump’s income tax returns into public knowledge. Trump managed to pay a surprising low income tax. Absolute zero one year, and just a few hundred dollars in other years.
Of course, Trump does not do his own taxes. He hires the best tax lawyers and tax accountants that money can buy. They found loopholes and special deals scattered throughout the tax code, and used them all. They probably stretched one or two of them farther than anyone else ever did.
The IRS is supposed to check or even audit the tax returns of wealthy taxpayers to keep them straight. IRS never objected to the Trump returns. It may be the IRS failed to check Trump’s returns, or Trump’s tax people were smarter than the IRS tax people (not unlikely).
It is a long standing principle of US law that is a perfectly legal to arrange one’s affairs to minimize your tax liabilities. Trump obviously did a fair amount of this. It’s perfectly legal.
Until the IRS comes right out and accuses Trump of tax evasion (they haven’t) I am going to believe that Trump’s tax returns are legal.
We should straighten out the incredible complicated US tax code. The whole thing fills shelf after shelf. It is written in lawyer speak which confuses us regular people. Those of us who still do our own taxes only have J.K. Lasser’s book. In one 8 ½ by 11 paper back only ½ inch thick, J.K. Lasser gets every thing we need to know packed into a lot less that the shelves and shelves of binders holding the whole tax code. Those who don’ use J.K. Lasser take their records down to H & R Block and they get them out in good enough shape to prevent an IRS audit of the tax payer.
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