Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, took aim at President Trump late Sunday shortly after the New York Times dropped its bombshell report on Trump’s decades-long history of tax avoidance.
Guess the Trump Crime Family can no longer fall back on the specious legal argument that the House Ways and Means Committee’s subpoena of the tax records is merely a “fishing expedition”.
The IRS goes after single Mom’s waitress tips. But wealthy types get a lawyer. Why should anyone pay taxes?
Having hundreds of millions in loans outstanding that he apparently has paid no principal down on sounds like a national security issue to me.
“gamed the tax code to his advantage”
I think this is putting it mildly. I’m more inclined to believe this is criminal tax evasion.
Yes that’s very weak. As Seth Abramson is emphasizing it’s not “gaming the system”—it’s felony tax fraud. There’s a big difference between legal but unethical and blatant illegality.
And it’s only Monday, folks.
After Donnie implodes in the debates, it can only get better…
$70,000 write-off for his haircut? $70,000? For that haircut? He needs to get his money back.
That was a poor choice of words by Rep. Neal. Gaming the system to your advantage is perfectly legal, violating the system is not.
“The legal right of a taxpayer to decrease the amount of what otherwise would be his taxes, or altogether avoid them, by means which the law permits, cannot be doubted. But the question for determination is whether what was done, apart from the tax motive, was the thing which the statute intended.” Gregory v. Helvering - 293 U.S. 465, 55 S. Ct. 266 (1935). (Citations omitted)
We the taxpayer should get ours back.
Indeed. The stylist, in the meantime, should be charged with fraud.
It was for his hair hat. 1970’s era shag carpeting is extremely hard to come by these days.
My mother has a family room full of the stuff. Gonna make me rich some day.
Richie Neal is a weak-ass loser who has wasted the better part of two years failing to get the materials somebody voluntarily gave to the New York Times.
If the president of the US is in the hole personally for $400 Million, there is a much bigger issue at hand. Did he report that liability in his Financial Disclosure? The $750 taxes paid is embarrassing but the personal debt makes him a target for corruption and blackmail, a serious National Security risk.
FWIW, we don’t know just how many haircuts that represents. If he got a cut every few days during filming, that might only be a few hundred bucks each. (If he got a cut not during filming, that could be tax evasion, of course.)
I think Neal doesn’t want to shout “Trump Committed Tax Fraud!” because he’s honest. A republican would have no problem screaming that about a democrat in similar circumstances. He could go with “it looks like tax fraud from here” though.
Gamed the tax code? Fuck that, his entire business is a criminal money laundering outfit. Christ almighty, if we can’t speak truth to this issue, what is the point of printing it? YOu think anyone is going to be swayed by him avoiding taxes? That’s literally the least of his crimes.
Most of his followers, a majority of RepubliCONS and a lot of moderates will view this as a good thing or somewhat acceptable since no one likes paying taxes.
I personally know a Fox addicted Trumper who rants constantly about non tax payers, immigrants and the lazy, who also brags about how he has gamed the system to avoid paying taxes.
It was hazard pay.