So.....apparently Trump taking a loss during the same 90's recession that adversly affected my family does not mean that he should get tax breaks to an equivalent amount in the following years....

At first I though the journalists pedalling this garbage simply didn't understand how the tax system works. However the New York Times (who helped instigate this whole thing) didn't pay any tax in 2014 - so obviously management there are using the same accountant trickery that Trump and other wealthy people have access to, while at the same time approving these hypocritical articles regarding Trump.

Everything Trump and the NY Times have done tax-wise is perfectly legal. They both have a responsibility to shareholders to pay as little tax as possible. (For the record, I think buying shares is tantamount to gambling and will never do it. Particularly as speculation is the achilles heel of free market capitalism).

The fact that the mainstream media would risk time in jail (by releasing Trump's tax returns without his authority, I presume....) and at the same time show such obvious hypocrisy, reeks of desperation. It shows that they have become so detached from reality that the public no longer trust them and they are resorting to extreme measures to ensure that this man does not get in.

Reading all these articles at first I thought Trump was a complete lunatic. But so much has been taken out of context. He is inconsistent on many issues, but he is far from the raging white supremacist monster that he is made out to be. I'm Australian so it took me a while to even bother fact checking all these stories, but now that I have compared what has been said by Trump to what the lying mainstream media say about him, I honestly believe that he may be able to fix the broken American system that is dragging the rest of the world down with it.

TRUMP 2016

I think there's a difference though. The New York Times isn't running for president, claim to be a genius at business, or telling the people that they're the hero of the working class.

So, who's allowing Trump not to pay taxes? What ruling party created those loopholes?

So to cheat your country is what the purpose of a business is. I don't care if its trump new York times or bill gates, paying taxes should not come down to legalities it should come down to personal ethics and responsibilities. If someone who cheated you turns out to rule you, if the country itself was sentient, then you would be pissed as hell. Its like a convicted criminal running a jail or prison as warden. See the irony

The reason you pay taxes is they are the fundation of your society.
It goes to roads, careing for the sick & homeless, helping the poor, military, public education, public services, scientific research.... ect.

Its what builds a society, without taxes it collapses.
You want someone who is too egotistical to contribute, to be your president?
Dispite the fact that he already has much more money than most?

Bleeding heart trump.... will make a good president right?

Watch him get elected and leave the country a ruined mess, or atleast in a worst state than when he got elected.

You don't pay taxes if you have loses because taxes are paid on profits, not loses.

Trump talked about his "billion in debt" in the mid-90s publicly many times , everybody knows about it.
(1:10 video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgiWk4zWnJo

I still don't get this entire situation.

There being concerns against Hilary, totally get. She seems a chameleon who just kind of adopted some of Bernie's more PR-pleasing policies, and in my opinion at least her stance seems fairly artificial. I.e., whereas with Sanders I had the impression that this was a guy who very much meant every word he said- and that even if, as president, he couldn't live up to all he hoped to achieve, he was still going into this VERY much prepared to fight for those goals- with Clinton it feels more like she's saying whatever will help get her foot in the door.

But... with all that said, how is Trump a viable alternative?

If I were JUST to look at the things Clinton has been criticized on and say 'Okay, so how is Trump better in that regard?' I'm left drawing blanks. He isn't more honest than Clinton. He isn't more ethical, or more generous, or more composed, or more competent, or... pretty much ANY trait that I would deem positive or 'Presidential.' o_O Even in the areas Clinton comes up short, Trump ties with her at best, and comes up even shorter at worst.

Honesty is something that the OP mentions specifically with regards to the 'lying mainstream media.' Trump seems to have a reputation among his supporters for being honest, and I can't figure out why that's the case.

Is it because he says lots of stupid things that most politicians would keep quiet about/phrase more delicately? That because he said a female reporter had 'blood coming from her wherever,' Trump somehow 'tells it like it is,' unlike those mean ol' politicians who just lie, lie, lie...

...because yeah, politicians spinning falsehoods is something so embedded in their very identity now, it's become a cliche, and this applies to Clinton as well. If I recall correctly, fact checkers estimated she made demonstrably false claims/lied 4 times during her debate with Trump, and there are those in Trump's camp who would be quick to point at them at signs of her dishonesty.

So if Trump's ill-thought-out statements were joined hand-in-hand with honesty and accountability to the facts, then that MIGHT be worth it as a trade-off.

Except that during the same debate, Trump was found to made false claims/lies 34 times. Not a typo, that's thirty-four times. So... basically we have a man who says lots of offensive and stupid things, AND lies more frequently. How is this in any way an improvement?

* * *

The concept of honesty also brings us to those tax statements, and why Trump's campaign was so eager to keep the matter under wraps for as long as possible. Because even if it's legal, it's kind of hard to claim 'I'm looking out for the average American' when it turns out you've been ducking out the same bills those average Americans have to pay.

And Trump, or those who run his campaign, know that. It's why there was such a frantic song-and-dance around not releasing them in the first place, and his lie about it being due to the audit the IRS was putting him through was meant to try and plug the speculative void. They wanted people to say 'Oh, he's just not releasing the statements because he's under an audit. I'm sure he's not trying to hide anything! Real salt of the Earth, that man.'

The funny thing is that when the IRS pretty much said 'Uhhh, no, Trump can release his info, we really don't care, the audit isn't preventing him,' Trump's campaign couldn't think of a replacement excuse. That's why he just doubled down and continued to insist it was because the IRS was auditing him.

Of course, now that their backs are up against the wall, it's on to Plan B; 'Trump Not Paying Taxes Is Just Proof Of His Financial Genius!'

* * *

I suppose what this all comes down to; if anyone calls Clinton crooked, or a liar, or dishonest, or self-serving, then yeah, okay, I can see where a lot of it comes from. what I don't see is how they do not then AUTOMATICALLY apply the same descriptors to Trump, because he is very much all of those things in ways that are pretty public! =P

I've been avoiding the news for a few days but if Trump's (personal or corporate?) tax returns were published without consent that is illegal.

I do not believe the newspaper or reporters will ever be held to account but it is interesting to note that if they did publish without consent they broke the law in an attempt to shame someone who did not (I'm assuming since this is supposed to be a very old return it was accepted by the IRS and legal).

In my mind it is very difficult for a newspaper to take a moral high ground stance while participating in illegal activity.

This. I'm not voting for either one of these jackasses. "My party" keeps telling me you gotta vote for Trump because Hillary will win and she's horrible. Well, I say fuck that. I'm not abandoning my principles and voting for that clown. He's just as bad. Maybe worse.

@ OP

This is why we need to strip away ALL of the tax code and just institute a flat tax. 10%-15% for all individuals and businesses, with maybe a 5% rate on those who make $20K-$25K or less. There will be no exceptions or credits. You can't do like Hollywood and some large businesses do and claim bogus loses just so you pay little to no tax.  People keep saying to tax the wealthy more, but they're completely oblivious to how this all works. You have the Dems, and some Reps, saying this, knowing full well they are in charge of the tax code and will find ways to get them and their buddies to pay very little in taxes, no matter how high the rate is.  There's a reason they make the bar so low for the "wealthy," those people at the bottom and middle have very little sway in government and can't afford high priced lawyers/accountants to navigate the code, so they have to pay that high tax. It really just ends up hurting those on the higher end of the middle class.

Yes, that's the point of loopholes. Still doesn't mean it's ethical to use them and one might wonder if the laws should be changed in that regard.

Also, this doesn't exactly paint a good picture of Trump's skills as a businessman. You've probably done something pretty terribly if as a result you don't have to pay taxes for 18 years.