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Trump qualified for a tax break for New Yorkers making $500K or less

Somerville

Somerville

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This is strange. Everyday we hear from The Donald about his huuuuge wealth; so how does he qualify for a tax break available only to those making LESS than $500,000 a year?

A few possibilities:
  1. He's lying about his income
  2. He isn't as rich as he claims to be
  3. The New York tax people are totally incompetent

Trump qualified for a tax break for New Yorkers making $500K or less

One of the enduring mysteries of Donald Trump is just how much wealth he has. Forbes pegs his net worth at $4.5 billion, while Bloomberg News puts it at $2.9 billion. The GOP front-runner himself has said he's "really rich."

Maybe, but Trump's income is low enough to qualify for a New York state property-tax break that most high-rollers don't get.

It's called the STAR program, which stands for the New York State School Tax Relief Program and has been around since 1997. It offers an approximately $300 annual benefit for those who qualify. Hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners get it.

Here's where it gets interesting for Trump: To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less. One wouldn't think a guy as rich as Trump claims to be would qualify, but records filed with the city's Department of Finance show he received a $302 STAR benefit on his latest property-tax bill for his Trump Tower penthouse on Fifth Avenue.

That means whatever his annual income is, it's less than $500,000.
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Somerville said:
This is strange. Everyday we hear from The Donald about his huuuuge wealth; so how does he qualify for a tax break available only to those making LESS than $500,000 a year?

A few possibilities:
  1. He's lying about his income
  2. He isn't as rich as he claims to be
  3. The New York tax people are totally incompetent
Click to expand...
I am going to go with...........All of the Above........can't wait to see that Tax return.
 
The thing that's hard for Socialist to understand is that people try to find any legal means to reduce their tax burden. Guess what, smart individuals do the SAME THING.

I guess the closer Trump gets to the White House, the more vocal opponents will get.

No matter how hard they try to dig some up, Trump has no more dirt than just about any other person holding political office and probably a lot less than most.
His ego is apparent and obnoxious....but that doesn't mean he wouldn't make a reasonable (by recent standards) POTUS.
He may turn out to be a LOT more Liberal than the right had hoped or been led to believe.
 
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Somerville said:
This is strange. Everyday we hear from The Donald about his huuuuge wealth; so how does he qualify for a tax break available only to those making LESS than $500,000 a year?

A few possibilities:
  1. He's lying about his income
  2. He isn't as rich as he claims to be
  3. The New York tax people are totally incompetent
Click to expand...

Because you can be a wealthy person who doesn't "make" millions of dollars. Or are you operating under the assumption that Trump earns billions of dollars each year?
 
reinoe said:
Because you can be a wealthy person who doesn't "make" millions of dollars. Or are you operating under the assumption that Trump earns billions of dollars each year?
Click to expand...

Are you under the assumption that $500,000 is "millions"?
 
NoLeftNoRight said:
The thing that's hard for Socialist to understand is that people try to find any legal means to reduce their tax burden. Guess what, smart individuals do the SAME THING.

I guess the closer Trump gets to the White House, the more vocal opponents will get.
Click to expand...


WHY do you believe, no thinking, that it would be hard for a Socialist to understand just a wee bit about the multitude of means by which the 0.1% avoid paying taxes? I've worked with, for, and dealt with many who belong to that wealth category so I do have a little understanding of how they 'play the game'. But for a "billionaire" to receive a tax break intended only for those earning less than $500K per annum - somethin' ain't right.
 
There's a YOOOGE difference between net income and net worth. He can still be worth millions or even billions and still have a yearly income less than $500k if his wealth is tied to corporations he owns that only pay him a small amount (in comparison that is).
 
It's called the STAR program, which stands for the New York State School Tax Relief Program and has been around since 1997. It offers an approximately $300 annual benefit for those who qualify. Hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners get it.
Click to expand...

If I had to guess, I'd say that there is some loophole which exists that *maybe* allows someone like him to slide through undetected depending upon how thoroughly the applications are screened and claim that $300 prize?

I'd imagine that a lot of rich New Yorkers apply out of spite for being subjected to such high tax rates. Is it a crime to apply for it? If not... meh.
 
reinoe said:
Because you can be a wealthy person who doesn't "make" millions of dollars. Or are you operating under the assumption that Trump earns billions of dollars each year?
Click to expand...

The Trumpster says he is worth, depending on what day of the week it is, between $8 and 10 billion dollars. ONE PERCENT interest would provide an income of between $80 and $100 million - tell the readers, how do you drop your income down to $500K/yr?
 
Somerville said:
This is strange. Everyday we hear from The Donald about his huuuuge wealth; so how does he qualify for a tax break available only to those making LESS than $500,000 a year?

A few possibilities:
  1. He's lying about his income
  2. He isn't as rich as he claims to be
  3. The New York tax people are totally incompetent
Click to expand...
Liberals are the authors of the tax code, ask them.
 
Somerville said:
The Trumpster says he is worth, depending on what day of the week it is, between $8 and 10 billion dollars. ONE PERCENT interest would provide an income of between $80 and $100 million - tell the readers, how do you drop your income down to $500K/yr?
Click to expand...

Most of that is valuation, Trump claims liquid assets of about $400 million.
 
Crovax said:
Most of that is valuation, Trump claims liquid assets of about $400 million.
Click to expand...


Yeah, his personal 'valuation', which according to his testimony during one lawsuit, "depends upon how I feel"

One percent of $400 million is $4 million - how do you drop your reported income to less than $500K?
 
Somerville said:
Yeah, his personal 'valuation', which according to his testimony during one lawsuit, "depends upon how I feel"

One percent of $400 million is $4 million - how do you drop your reported income to less than $500K?
Click to expand...

I know I can drop my reported income by deducting educational expenses and charity donations. I'm sure Trump knows far more accounting tricks than I do, and I bet his accountants know even more than he. Are you done with this little storm in a teacup or would you like to rant some more and discredit yourself further? PRO-TIP: I recommend you stop now but to each his own...
 
Somerville said:
This is strange. Everyday we hear from The Donald about his huuuuge wealth; so how does he qualify for a tax break available only to those making LESS than $500,000 a year?

A few possibilities:
  1. He's lying about his income
  2. He isn't as rich as he claims to be
  3. The New York tax people are totally incompetent
Click to expand...

You are missing the one item that is likely true.... wealth and income are not the same thing, particularly in real estate.

It is very easy for very wealthy people, particularly those in real estate development, to have lots of wealth and no income *
 
reinoe said:
I know I can drop my reported income by deducting educational expenses and charity donations. I'm sure Trump knows far more accounting tricks than I do, and I bet his accountants know even more than he. Are you done with this little storm in a teacup or would you like to rant some more and discredit yourself further? PRO-TIP: I recommend you stop now but to each his own...
Click to expand...

"discredit" myself - HAH! What I read here are people denying the reality that Trump is not only a serial liar but also undoubtedly cheating on his taxes. But for some folks it's nothing more than a storm in their teacup because they 'know' a real businessman is the best candidate for the GOP and every lie simply shows what a great President he would be. (do we have a gif for vomiting? i need it)
 
Somerville said:
"discredit" myself - HAH! What I read here are people denying the reality that Trump is not only a serial liar but also undoubtedly cheating on his taxes. But for some folks it's nothing more than a storm in their teacup because they 'know' a real businessman is the best candidate for the GOP and every lie simply shows what a great President he would be. (do we have a gif for vomiting? i need it)
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No, what you've revealed here is that you likely have no income of any kind or you'd be aware that there are ways to "reduce" your income without reducing your income. Let me guess, you've never filed taxes in your life, eh socialist?
 
upsideguy said:
You are missing the one item that is likely true.... wealth and income are not the same thing, particularly in real estate. It is very easy for very wealthy people, particularly those in real estate development, to have lots of wealth and no income *
Click to expand...

That is the most likely explanation. There are a lot of wealthy people who are asset rich, but (relatively) cash poor and Trump is probably one of them given the industry he's in. He talks about what his worth is all the time, but never says what the balance of his checking account is. That should be the first clue.
 
lol like anyone else he's going for the minimum taxes he can pay. just another reason he appeals to the average person.

TRUMP 2016, tear down the establishment.
 
Somerville said:
The Trumpster says he is worth, depending on what day of the week it is, between $8 and 10 billion dollars. ONE PERCENT interest would provide an income of between $80 and $100 million - tell the readers, how do you drop your income down to $500K/yr?
Click to expand...

How do you think real assets work?
 
Somerville said:
The Trumpster says he is worth, depending on what day of the week it is, between $8 and 10 billion dollars. ONE PERCENT interest would provide an income of between $80 and $100 million - tell the readers, how do you drop your income down to $500K/yr?
Click to expand...

Because you can show massive write offs and deductions and losses to drop your income substantially. And net worth isn't necessarily something that's generating an annual income. Our net worth includes our cars which we own free and clear, and our 401Ks which are earning interest but we don't report as income right now, and the equity in our house which also doesn't generate a penny in income. I'm guessing you don't understand anything about net worths and assets.

All the more reason to simplify the tax code. Tell all those Democrats you've voted for through the years to get on it.
 
Everyone is trying to find loopholes, and the wealthy are esp good at it. Most of us file our yearly returns looking for something to give us back a bit more. Nothing wrong with that.
I don't know about Trump's situation, perhaps the 500 k are about disposable income. Not a financial whiz, it's all I can come up with.
 
upsideguy said:
You are missing the one item that is likely true.... wealth and income are not the same thing, particularly in real estate.

It is very easy for very wealthy people, particularly those in real estate development, to have lots of wealth and no income *
Click to expand...

Yeah, as much as I don't like Trump, the OP didn't surprise me much. When I was in Atlanta I worked on many returns for real estate developers, their partnerships, and individual returns, and it's a weird business from a tax standpoint. One guy was the biggest developer in Atlanta - probably was majority or minority owner in 75 big apartment complexes, major office space, etc. - and he showed massive losses on his 1040 for the five years I worked on the account. Same thing with most of the minority owners. Their reported income had really nothing (apparently) to do with how their businesses were going....could never really figure out how the numbers worked or why institutions extended them loans, which more often than not were renegotiated down, were nearly always in technical default, etc.
 
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