For years during Trump’s presidency, the losers and haters wondered: might there be a conflict of interest in having a famously tax-averse President be audited by an IRS that he controlled?
I’m not sure “asleep at the wheel” is the way to portray this. In time we’ll know but I’d bet a wad that this was preferential treatment by Trumpers in the IRS and probably on Trump’s demand. This is not an oversight.
“The report reveals that the IRS was stunningly lax in its treatment of Trump, but doesn’t go so far as to speculate on the cause: incompetence, fear, or corruption.”
I’ll vote. All three.
The more things change the more things remain the same. Nothing will be done to address this. The Republican won’t allow it and the media will blame the Democrats for not fixing it.
If anyone is surprised by any of this, they simply haven’t been paying attention.
I don’t doubt that the information is accurate, but how does the committee finally obtaining the actual tax returns inform them of whether audits were conducted or are currently in progress?
This is why Republicans hate the 87’000 New IRS agent idea…
Two things stand out here:
The whole point of an audit is that you don’t just take the taxpayer’s word for all the numbers. Um.
Getting the tax returns was neither too late nor in vain. Trump’s tax returns not only provide a graphic example that Democrats can go to the voters with if they want to reform taxation of the rich, it also provides talking points in countering the usual Republican "anecdotes (= lies) about how the IRS is an American Gestapo.
Considering that none of the audits have been completed means he’s still getting kid glove treatment from the IRS.
I call Shenanigans
Now there is a spotlight on the Trump. And the IRS.
Right as he starts his NFT scam… real shame on the timing.
I highly doubt anyone here is stunned.
If Trump said, " Only I can dodge it" and all his ass kissers agreed.
Try this as a probable reason:
IRS Chief Makes More Than $100,000 Per Year Off Trump Property, Documents Show (forbes.com)
“The report reveals that the IRS was stunningly lax in its treatment of Trump, but doesn’t go so far as to speculate on the cause: incompetence, fear, or corruption.”
All the above and much less.
ETA. I see @billymac beat me to it. Congrats.
Trump also described the IRS increasing its agents on the case from one to three as a “300 percent” increase in scrutiny.
It’s a fart in the wind compared to everything else, but the fact that he’s a total moron just irritates me all the more. I just want to live long enough to see the country no longer have to talk about him except as a shameful footnote.
The IRS dozed through most of its obligations to audit Trump during his presidency, the panel found, concluding that it violated an agency program which mandates that the tax returns of every President be audited annually. In Trump’s case, the returns weren’t audited for his first two years in office — when Republicans held a governing trifecta.
I’m sure that’s just as much of a coincidence as both Comey and McCabe being “randomly” selected for an intrusive audit.
The IRS took exceedingly few steps to substantiate the returns that Trump filed, and never gained a complete picture of the business entities tied to Trump, nor did it determine all of the deductions that Trump claimed across his returns.
Given the convictions in New York and Letitia James’ referrals, the IRS now has sufficient cause to actually do an audit of the bastard. Or would that look “too political?”