Democrats have reached a new low

The Democrats have reached a new low in the greatest political persecution of any President in history. They have now released the tax returns of a private citizen (former President Trump).

The crazy ass left has once again weaponized the IRS and private tax returns against conservatives. Will the GOP finally respond in kind this time and start releasing returns of far left politicians and journalists. That is the only way you stop this leftist insanity

I think taxes are totally fair game. Especially for anyone in public office. In fact, it should be mandatory for full transparency.

Just like the transparency in freedom of speech, this helps to know when conflicts of interest or perhaps fraud etc. would be suspect.

Trump said he would release them before...and he was finally able to have that promise fulfilled. Finally- "like never before", the people can see how Trump is merely a showman, and the truth of his business is just a sham.

He has always been gaming a system that caters to write-offs, especially for real estate.

But yeah, I think EVERY candidate for president MUST turn over their returns.

Mr Madison, Franklin, et al strongly disagree.

I think taxes are totally fair game. Especially for anyone in public office. In fact, it should be mandatory for full transparency.

Just like the transparency in freedom of speech, this helps to know when conflicts of interest or perhaps fraud etc. would be suspect.

Trump said he would release them before...and he was finally able to have that promise fulfilled. Finally- "like never before", the people can see how Trump is merely a showman, and the truth of his business is just a sham.

He has always been gaming a system that caters to write-offs, especially for real estate.

But yeah, I think EVERY candidate for president MUST turn over their returns. Originally Posted by eyecu2

So, if the R's immediately ask for Bidens taxes, as well as his sons, who likely was paying his father from his foreign bribes, you are ok with that?

I think taxes are totally fair game. Especially for anyone in public office. In fact, it should be mandatory for full transparency. Originally Posted by eyecu2

LOL, would you think that if they released your taxes to the world for all to see?

There is no reason why anyone other than the IRS, who is responsible for enforcing the tax laws in the country, to see anyone's taxes but their own. And yes that includes the President of the United States. Everyone is entitled to privacy

The only reason the crazy ass radical leftists took the unprecedented step of releasing President Trump's tax was purely out of spite and in an attempt to embarrass him by invading his privacy

This was doxxing and shouldn't have happened in this manner.

Privacy isn't absolute and public interest often overrides privacy when it comes to public officials. That's a major difference between Trump and eye so don't try to pretend there's an equivalency.

It wasn't purely out if spite, but trying to embarrass him is a byproduct.

There are legitimate concerns that have been raised by the Committees which will be undercut by the action in the minds of many. But it's starting to become clearer why Trump never really intended on sharing and was lying to the American people.

So, if the R's immediately ask for Bidens taxes, as well as his sons, who likely was paying his father from his foreign bribes, you are ok with that? Originally Posted by Devo

If the correct R's on the correct Committee ask for access to the returns as part of a legidlative purpose, Treasury should produce them.

And clearly, that would be permissable.

Im totally ok with Joe showing his taxes (*hint - he already did), and if I was running for president or public office, then yep, I should show mine too.

Transparency provides proof of a lack of conflicts or at least knowledge of where there might be one. I also think anyone in Congress and executive offices should have to show investments etc, and would advocate for putting those monies into a blind trust would be an ideal method for cutting out possible improper trades of stocks or any securities when these ppl have lots of inside information.

How do you think politicians enter office with a small savings or investments, and leave ...afterwards showing millions. I'm all for transparency and consequences for improper actions.

I got nothing to hide, cause I don't do illegal shit...well stuff that doesn't include vices aside.

I got nothing to hide, cause I don't do illegal shit...well stuff that doesn't include vices aside. Originally Posted by eyecu2

So you then would be fine with your tax returns being published for all to see?

It has zero to do with anything to hide and everything to do with privacy

Under the Senile Biden/Pelosi gang's new Trump precedent, anyone's and everyone's tax returns from any time can be reviewed and released by Congress. That is absolutely wrong.

Again, there is no reason why anyone other than the IRS, who is responsible for enforcing the tax laws in the country, to see anyone's taxes but their own. And yes that includes the President of the United States. Everyone is entitled to privacy.

The IRS, the Treasury Department and select Committees in Congress.

Some lawyers and judges.

State revenue agencies and local revenue agencies and their designated tax collectors.

Im totally ok with Joe showing his taxes (*hint - he already did), and if I was running for president or public office, then yep, I should show mine too.

Transparency provides proof of a lack of conflicts or at least knowledge of where there might be one. I also think anyone in Congress and executive offices should have to show investments etc, and would advocate for putting those monies into a blind trust would be an ideal method for cutting out possible improper trades of stocks or any securities when these ppl have lots of inside information.

How do you think politicians enter office with a small savings or investments, and leave ...afterwards showing millions. I'm all for transparency and consequences for improper actions.

I got nothing to hide, cause I don't do illegal shit...well stuff that doesn't include vices aside. Originally Posted by eyecu2

fyi forgot about replying to this, your remark hint hint saying biden released his taxes isnt true... he released his personal tax return, not his s corp return. in 2017 and 2018 he and his wife had over 13 million made thru an s corp. he only claimed a salary of roughly 700000 as personal salary for this thus saving self employment on over 12 million.... hmmm all that money was given for basically personal appearances and speeches. seems to me all of that should have been classified as direct salary

you see , as trump once said to hillary, the game is rigged and yes he uses the system as do all of them including hillary, biden obama, polusi and all the rest of the political people

so trash trump all you want but you better not stop there at least trump said it for all the world to hear.........

speaking of Trump's taxes and what they "show" ...


After Democrats release Trump’s tax returns, CPAs have questions: ‘In order to generate these kinds of losses, you need to be super rich. It’s not a poor man’s game.’

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/50320a0d...s-release.html


By Quentin Fottrell

comments


‘The personal tax return is just the tip of the iceberg’


The Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee released six years of Donald Trump’s income-tax returns on Friday.

MarketWatch photo illustration/Getty Images, AP


Democrats released six years of Donald Trump’s income-tax returns on Friday, providing further insight into the former president’s tax situation. Trump and his wife, Melania, paid $0 in income taxes for 2020, according to a report released late Tuesday by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.


The nonpartisan committee’s findings also raised several red flags related to the filings, namely Trump’s carryover losses, loans to his children that may or may not also be considered taxable gifts, and deduction-related tax write-offs.


In 2020, as the COVID pandemic hit, the Trumps reported a loss of $4.8 million. For 2018 and 2019, the then-president’s reported income increased and they paid approximately $1.1 million in federal taxes each year.


The Internal Revenue Service only started to audit Trump’s 2015 tax filings on April 3, 2019, more than two years into his presidency, which some commentators say is a sign of the strained resources at the IRS.


“Just like every other American, the President of the United States is obligated to pay taxes owed,” reads an internal IRS memo from earlier this month. “This is a core responsibility of our common citizenship: without tax revenue, our government would cease to exist.”


In a statement released Friday by the Trump campaign, the former president said his returns show “how proudly successful I have been.”


The U.S. tax code, experts say, cuts both ways. “The government intentionally makes laws that have two objectives,” said Charles Renwick, a CPA and author of the forthcoming book “All the Presidents’ Taxes.” “One is to raise money and the other objective is to incentivize behavior. Real-estate investing is clearly incentivized by the tax code.”


People who lose money and therefore have no income pay no taxes, Renwick noted. “There is another scenario where [Trump] lost money on paper but made money on the underlying economics. If that’s the case, then it’s the result of the incentives in the tax code and not necessarily a result of any impropriety. The chances are that he did it right,” he said.


“Trump is engaging in an activity that is very, very incentivized by our current tax code,” he said.


One disclosure includes Trump’s foreign bank accounts in Ireland, the U.K., China, and Saint Martin. “We already knew he owned large buildings with Chinese partners (555 California Street in San Francisco),” Renwick told MarketWatch.


“Disclosures like these are black and white,” he said. “Remember, his former campaign Chairman, Paul Manafort, was convicted of tax fraud for not disclosing foreign bank accounts. This is clearly an important disclosure from the standpoint of providing transparency.”


Jonathan Medows, managing member of Medows CPA PLLC, based in New York, agrees that — based on what has been revealed about Trump’s 2020 income taxes — the former president’s tax returns highlight ways Americans can use the tax code to minimize their tax burden.


Business owners and investors can accelerate certain deductions, he said. “Usually, that’s in real estate, by the way,” he said. “You can lose a lot of money on paper and return capital to investors but still have cash flow. Bottom line: In order to generate these kinds of losses, you need to be super rich. It’s not a poor man’s game.”


Karla Dennis, founder of Karla Dennis and Associates, Inc. in La Palma, Calif., an enrolled tax agent and business consultant, said there is a broader takeaway for Americans: “Affluent people are more aware of the options open to them.”


“Most tax players are focused on tax compliance, and fewer taxpayers are looking at what year-long tax strategy can be employed to reduce their tax bill,” she added. “If you study for a test, you get an A+.”

Inequities in the U.S. tax system

How progressive is the progressive tax system? Medows said the U.S. middle class ends up bearing the brunt of the tax burden, while wealthy people have more avenues to minimize what they owe the IRS.


He cites the 6.2% Social Security tax as an example. The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (the taxable maximum) will increase to $160,200 from $147,000 in January. People who earn more than that maximum will pay the same as someone making $160,200.


“If you’re self-employed, if you’re a middle-class person, you’re paying this tax [on all your earnings], but if you’re super rich and earn $3 million, you’re only paying it on the first $160,200 of your earnings,” Medows told MarketWatch. “You have your biggest earners not paying it. You have middle-class people paying it. That’s a hidden tax,” he said.


“I don’t know how progressive the U.S. tax system is,” he concluded.


And Donald Trump? “For all I know, he may simply have been a very unsuccessful businessman whose genuine losses reduced his net worth over the past couple of decades,” Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at the the centrist Brookings Institution, told MarketWatch.


Burtless, who does not profess to be an expert on Trump’s taxes, does see inequities in the U.S. tax system, however. “If we define the ‘very rich’ as Americans with extremely high pretax incomes in the current tax year, I agree with most of my fellow citizens in thinking it disgraceful when ‘very rich’ people pay zero dollars in current income taxes. The theory of our progressive income tax system is that each U.S. resident’s tax liability should represent a rising share of their pretax income as their pretax income increases,” he said.


“On the other hand,” he continued, “if we define the ‘very rich’ as Americans with extremely high net worth, then it is easy for me to imagine that some of these ‘very rich’ will quite properly owe no income taxes in a given year — for example, in a year when their pretax income in the current tax year is very low or negative.”


Wealth tax vs. income tax


Consider, Burtless said, farmers who own farms worth $2 million or more. “If they reap a terrible harvest, their gross incomes might be very low or even negative, despite the fact that they remain very wealthy under the ‘net worth’ definition. Our progressive income tax is not a wealth tax; it is an income tax.”


Keep in mind, he added, that some states and many localities impose property taxes on land, property improvements and certain categories of real property. In that case, wealthy farmers may still be liable for sizable property taxes, even in years when their federal income-tax liability is very low or zero.


“In my view, if voters want to impose taxes on everyone with high net worth, they should consider establishing a comprehensive wealth tax,” Burtless added. “A progressive income tax is not the most sensible way to achieve that goal.”


This year, some 72.5 million U.S. households, or 40%, will pay no federal income tax, down from the pandemic high of 100 million households, or 60%, two years ago, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center. In 2021, nearly 56% of households, or 99 million, paid no federal income tax, the nonpartisan think tank said in a report released earlier this year.


“I don’t wish being poor on anyone,” Medows said. “I’d rather pay my taxes. My wife works in a public hospital. My father, bless his memory, was a public defender. He got health insurance. Unless you work for a big company, many middle-class people can’t afford medical insurance. The system is rigged against the middle class.”


As for presidential tax returns, Renwick said full transparency should also require former presidents to release their tax returns after they leave office to show what, if any, foreign business deals they make that could have been influenced by their policies and other dealings while in power.


“Do we get to see all his informational returns, like his partnership and trust returns?” Renwick added. “All of these things are sources of value that create potential conflicts of interest. If the goal is increased transparency, if the goal is to identify conflicts of interest, if the goal is to see they are paying their fair share, if the goal is to see if they have foreign business dealers — there is more information that should be released.”


“The personal tax return is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.