Everyone gets tax loss carryforwards if they have business losses that meet the criteria....and only a stupid fucking faggot would not use them.
Originally Posted by friendly fred
Agreed. However, to the point at hand, why Trump doesn't want to disclose his tax returns, his $916 million tax loss from his casinos highlights the following,
1. He's not as good a businessman as he purports to be. It's very possible he's lost more money than he's made during his lifetime.
2. Maybe I'm old school, but when you borrow money, you try your best to repay it. And you don't brag about how you "used, brilliantly, the laws of the country" (Trump's words) to screw your bondholders and your bankers.
3. He's taking advantage of a loophole in the tax code. While you and I agree there's nothing wrong with this, think about how the public viewed the mere existence of Romney's investments in Cayman Islands funds, which came out when he made his tax returns public. Romney didn't get any tax savings from these investments, versus what he would have paid if the funds were domiciled in the USA. Trump on the other hand saved a bundle in taxes. He basically got a $916 million tax deduction, but the $916 million didn't come out of his pocket, it came out of the pockets of his banks and bondholders.
For what it's worth, this sort of thing doesn't look good in terms of the integrity of the tax system. The loophole should have been closed, if it hasn't already. It gives leftists ammunition to incorrectly say the rich don't pay their fair share. You've got people on this board who believe the billionaire class doesn't pay taxes, and this anomaly is one of the reasons why.