This week, The New York Times released some of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s tax records that they received in the mail. It was part of a tax return leak from 1995. Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples, may have leaked it, but we don’t know for sure.
The return said that Trump lost $916 million. Here are two possible reasons for that loss:
He Actually Lost The Money
Many real estates developers lost money in the 1990s. Trump could’ve lost the money on his casinos. Since he had a negative income, he would be allowed to carry that loss into subsequent years.
He Claimed The Wrong Amount
It is not illegal tax evasion. As buildings get older, developers are allowed to declare that depreciation as a business loss.
Real-estate values were on the upswing in the mid-1990s, so if he really did lose that much, he’s not that great of a businessman.
With real-estate investments, you can keep putting off paying taxes on properties until they are sold. If you are worth up to $10 million, like Trump probably is, his estate would owe up to 40 percent in taxes after his death.
This is the likely reason why Trump wants to get rid of the estate tax; his children would inherit his estate tax-free when he dies.
Economist Alan Cole said:
“Nothing about the plan would change the basic idea that if you take a loss you can carry it forward and count it against future income.”
Donald Trump has claimed that he is going to revamp the tax system. John Lieberman, an accountant and member of the New York State Society of CPAs said this about the Republicans’ tax plans:
“The way the tax laws are structured, there are advantages to being in certain industries such as real estate or oil and gas. It does not appear that would change under the Republican plan, except for certain types of business tax credits.”
Hillary Clinton wants to raise the estate tax. It’s part of her new plan; however, it is only taxed high on really rich people, above $500 million. Anything about $5 million would be taxed at 40 percent.
Featured image screenshot Via YouTube Video.
