I think Dangerous, Dishonest Donald (DDD) should probably be impeached & removed, if not imprisoned. But I am surprised by the financial ignorance and illiteracy of the press and media on recent taxable income figures. Taxable income in leveraged capital intensive industries such as real estate is not indicative of wealth accumulation and growth. The relevant item is cashflow, which is the taxable loss plus the depreciation taken in a period, If in a year there is a reported taxable loss of $50 million and $90 million of depreciation is taken - then in that year what is real income (cashflow) of $40 million - cash that can deposited in the bank or used for acquisitions to increase cashflow in the following year. The cable TV routinely had negative taxable income in its growth period of the 1970s and 1980s - but had very healthy cashflow and consequently had increasing value and wealth accumulation for investors. Look at cashflow not taxable income.
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This is all well and good. But, of much more importance is figuring out where his cash comes from. Why would anyone believe his tax filings are more honest than anything else he says?
Somehow he has cash to perpetuate his wealth myth. Please find out how he is doing this.
John.
The tax records of US Presidential candidates and of the office holders need to be public record. So this is important reporting.
However, I wish you had made more clear about how legal it was for someone to share this info with NYT.
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How do we convince the people who support him to listen to this. It is like a bad dream, they are all caught in and there is no one to wake them. How do we get the people who really need to hear this--to hear this!
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What concerns me about Trump's tax returns from this period is how he "renegotiated" with the banks about money he owed to them on his properties. That is called "relief of debt" and it is taxable, as it is as if you received income to pay down your debt. If it were not treated directly as income, it should have reduced his ability to deduct the losses in future tax years. I'll bet you dollars to dimes that Trump had relief of debt and that he never included it in his income, thereby reducing his losses. He's a lying criminal.
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More Brilliant investigative reporting by the New York Times! Thank you - I’m so deeply grateful for your hard work in bringing the truth to the American People! Every penny I paid for my subscription has been totally worth it !
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Think if you read his book back in the day - this information was already put there. Amazing how everyone seems to be professional tax attorneys when it comes tomTrump’s finances - let me add as not to be tagged as a Trumpeter - IMO I rather someone else was in office - our country is so focused on him nothing else is being addressed!
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It's all smoke and mirrors
A master con man, and not much more. Certainly not surprising.
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The tenacity of NYT’s reporting on this dubious individual foreshadows a more sinister outcome. Where did Trump’s post 1996 wealth come from? Is there any?
BTW, David Letterman’s 1 billion net worth trial balloon certainly did not help matters. Words are powerful especially when taken at face value. Thanks for digging below the surface.
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Congratulations for your revelations and professionalism. It may help the USA escape Lying Trump's ongoing biggest and dirtiest bankruptcy scheme, with or without foreign interferences.
The silent majority will certainly keep a keen interests and hope to see strong supports of all mainstream media around the nation, as well as around the world--including though not limited to the CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Reuters, the NYT, the WP, etc.
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Ha ha - I made more than Trump in 1987 right out of college, and that was without tax schemes and not paying my contractors.
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