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Donald Trump Acknowledges Not Paying Federal Income Taxes for Years

OscarLevant

OscarLevant

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This is why I support a wealth tax, because rich guys who own a lot of real estate deduct "depreciation".

When is the last time NY Real Estate didn't go up in value? Well, they take a depreciation over a long schedule, and they can literally show a loss if they own enough real estate, all the while they are living high on the hog and not pay taxes, albeit legitimately, while the common folk take up the slack and/or there are huge deficits. On top of this, Trump might have paid a tax with the "alternate minimum tax" , but his tax bill got rid of that and the estate tax, so he dealt himself a nice hand while conning his followers that "he's looking out for the little guy". Yes, buildings deteriorate over time, but they don't actually depreciate in value, because the land on which the structures sit goes up a lot faster than the deteriorating buildings, so this deduction, which rich people have been getting away with for years, is a largess given to them from the poor/middle class to the rich ( if the rich don't pay their fair share, then everyone else must pay it, so that's a wealth transfer from lower to upper ).

He has said "I'm just following the laws, if you don't like the law change it", well, guess what, he's president so I don't think he's going to change it, notably, what he did change was to give himself and his rich cronies more tax breaks, but republicans don't mind -- oh yeah, us little guys got crumbs, and many of us had to pay even more.

Donald Trump Acknowledges Not Paying Federal Income Taxes for Years - The New York Times

Asked directly during the debate if he would say how many years he had avoided paying federal income taxes, Mr. Trump responded, “No.”
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Before I get too bent out of shape I'd like for you to explain to us all what depreciation is, how it creates a loss and why only rich guys get to claim it on their taxes. I've heard the term before but my understanding of it doesn't seem to be the same as yours.
 
This is one reason that i think we should abolish the income tax system and replace it with a consumption tax. It eliminates tax loopholes.

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OscarLevant said:
This is why I support a wealth tax, because rich guys who own a lot of real estate deduct "depreciation".

When is the last time NY Real Estate didn't go up in value? Well, they take a depreciation over a long schedule, and they can literally show a loss if they own enough real estate, all the while they are living high on the hog and not pay taxes, albeit legitimately, while the common folk take up the slack and/or there are huge deficits. On top of this, Trump might have paid a tax with the "alternate minimum tax" , but his tax bill got rid of that and the estate tax, so he dealt himself a nice hand while conning his followers that "he's looking out for the little guy". Yes, buildings deteriorate over time, but they don't actually depreciate in value, because the land on which the structures sit goes up a lot faster than the deteriorating buildings, so this deduction, which rich people have been getting away with for years, is a largess given to them from the poor/middle class to the rich ( if the rich don't pay their fair share, then everyone else must pay it, so that's a wealth transfer from lower to upper ).

He has said "I'm just following the laws, if you don't like the law change it", well, guess what, he's president so I don't think he's going to change it, notably, what he did change was to give himself and his rich cronies more tax breaks, but republicans don't mind -- oh yeah, us little guys got crumbs, and many of us had to pay even more.
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You can't depreciate real estate.
 
trouble13 said:
This is one reason that i think we should abolish the income tax system and replace it with a consumption tax. It eliminates tax loopholes.

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Flat tax.
 
trouble13 said:
This is one reason that i think we should abolish the income tax system and replace it with a consumption tax. It eliminates tax loopholes.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
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That consumption tax would be highly destructive to the economy and the middle class because the poor and middle class spend far more of what they earn than the rich who only spend a small fraction.
 
apdst said:
Flat tax.
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Billionaires love that idea. Do you might wonder why that would be? How do you plan to tax the poor at the same rate as multi billionaires?
 
apdst said:
You can't depreciate real estate.
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For commercial / rental property, I should have put that in there, now that you are pinning me down.
 
Lutherf said:
Before I get too bent out of shape I'd like for you to explain to us all what depreciation is, how it creates a loss and why only rich guys get to claim it on their taxes. I've heard the term before but my understanding of it doesn't seem to be the same as yours.
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I'm using a standard definition, so I don't know what your issue is, and I didn't say "only rich guys".
 
OscarLevant said:
This is why I support a wealth tax, because rich guys who own a lot of real estate deduct "depreciation".

When is the last time NY Real Estate didn't go up in value? Well, they take a depreciation over a long schedule, and they can literally show a loss if they own enough real estate, all the while they are living high on the hog and not pay taxes, albeit legitimately, while the common folk take up the slack and/or there are huge deficits. On top of this, Trump might have paid a tax with the "alternate minimum tax" , but his tax bill got rid of that and the estate tax, so he dealt himself a nice hand while conning his followers that "he's looking out for the little guy". Yes, buildings deteriorate over time, but they don't actually depreciate in value, because the land on which the structures sit goes up a lot faster than the deteriorating buildings, so this deduction, which rich people have been getting away with for years, is a largess given to them from the poor/middle class to the rich ( if the rich don't pay their fair share, then everyone else must pay it, so that's a wealth transfer from lower to upper ).

He has said "I'm just following the laws, if you don't like the law change it", well, guess what, he's president so I don't think he's going to change it, notably, what he did change was to give himself and his rich cronies more tax breaks, but republicans don't mind -- oh yeah, us little guys got crumbs, and many of us had to pay even more.
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So other then being another anti-Trump masturbatory thread. This really doesn't add anything to any sort of dialogue.

Trump was still following the law apparently and you people are still all too eager for a reason to cry about nothing, once again.
 
Lisa said:
That consumption tax would be highly destructive to the economy and the middle class because the poor and middle class spend far more of what they earn than the rich who only spend a small fraction.
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Thats an inaccurate assessment of how it would work.

Rich people not only buy more things, but they buy more expensive things too. They would still pay the majority of the taxes collected. Tha particular system i looked at also provides a probate check from the government which refunds the tax burden on the things that are considered necessities. This of course benefits the poor much more than the affluent.

It also would tax a real estate mougal like Trump on every purchase of a property. Say for instance the federal tax rate was 30% and he purchased 1 billion worth of property. The federal gov would collect 300 million from him in taxes. Theres no way to hide it.

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OscarLevant said:
what he did change was to give himself and his rich cronies more tax breaks, .
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Really, Like what. What are these tax breaks that Trump was able to isolate to his rich cronies?
 
trouble13 said:
Thats an inaccurate assessment of how it would work.

Rich people not only buy more things, but they buy more expensive things too. They would still pay the majority of the taxes collected. Tha particular system i looked at also provides a probate check from the government which refunds the tax burden on the things that are considered necessities. This of course benefits the poor much more than the affluent.

It also would tax a real estate mougal like Trump on every purchase of a property. Say for instance the federal tax rate was 30% and he purchased 1 billion worth of property. The federal gov would collect 300 million from him in taxes. Theres no way to hide it.

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I like the current progressive system if we would stop handing out tax cuts to the rich because some people have been convinced of the fallacy of supply side economics or the silly claim that taxes are a punishment.
 
Lisa said:
Billionaires love that idea. Do you might wonder why that would be? How do you plan to tax the poor at the same rate as multi billionaires?
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If you had a flat tax of 15-20% across the board with no deductions, the revenue of this country would skyrocket. Do you know of anybody who is paying less?
 
apdst said:
Flat tax.
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Flat tax is still an income tax. It may be a better version than our current tax but i have a fundamental disagreement with taxing a persons income.

I like the idea of taxing a persons spending. The more you spend the more in taxes you pay. If your rich and you have to have the latest model car every year you pay a tax on that purchase. If your poor and cant afford that car you buy a used vehicle and avoid the tax all together because the tax is only applied to new purchases. The system rewards people who lives within thier means.

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Lisa said:
I like the current progressive system if we would stop handing out tax cuts to the rich because some people have been convinced of the fallacy of supply side economics or the silly claim that taxes are a punishment.
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Thats fine, but if your happy with the current system then theres no reason to compkain about someone applying it in the way the best suits their situation.

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Lisa said:
tcja2017.
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Did you not get the memo? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reformed itemized deductions and the alternative minimum tax, an expanded standard deduction and child tax credit, and lower marginal tax rates across brackets.

You are claiming that these tax breaks are that Trump was able to isolate to his rich cronies?

How does the TCJA of 2017 do this exactly?
 
trouble13 said:
Flat tax is still an income tax. It may be a better version than our current tax but i have a fundamental disagreement with taxing a persons income.

I like the idea of taxing a persons spending. The more you spend the more in taxes you pay. If your rich and you have to have the latest model car every year you pay a tax on that purchase. If your poor and cant afford that car you buy a used vehicle and avoid the tax all together because the tax is only applied to new purchases. The system rewards people who lives within thier means.

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Taxing spending is regressive and moves the tax burden to the middle class and the poor.
 
Condor060 said:
Did you not get the memo? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reformed itemized deductions and the alternative minimum tax, an expanded standard deduction and child tax credit, and lower marginal tax rates across brackets.

You are claiming that these tax breaks are that Trump was able to isolate to his rich cronies?

How does the TCJA of 2017 do this exactly?
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Facts differ.
By 2027, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, every income group below $75,000 will actually see a tax increase. Only those income ranges above $75,000 will still see a cut by 2027. And according to the Tax Policy Center, only taxpayers higher than the 90th percentile -- that is, those earning about $225,000 and above -- will have better-than-even odds of getting a tax cut in 2027.
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trouble13 said:
Thats fine, but if your happy with the current system then theres no reason to compkain about someone applying it in the way the best suits their situation.

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We need to start thinking as a society instead of individual people because we are still in the can't see the forest for the individual trees syndrome. A society is an interdependent forest and that ecosystem is where the science of macroeconomics comes into play.
The fact that the rich can buy politicians who suit their goals has tilted the political scales in their favor. The corporately controlled media has only made the problem worse.
 
Oborosen said:
Actually I don't mind getting more money back and I don't really care that the rich are doing well either. So long as the rest of us are doing well also.
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How do you plan to deal with the fact that this cuts government incomes by over a trillion and the savings are very biased towards the top earners? do you not see the bubble that is being created, despite the fact that college loan problems aren't being addressed and credit debt is also going up to over 4 trillion. This bubble needs to be addressed before the economy crashes again.
 
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