In 2017, Trump paid $318,672 in taxes. Why doesn’t he say that?
The NY Times has reported that Donald Trump paid $750 in taxes in 2017.
Well, that’s how most people are reading it but, strictly speaking, that’s not what the Times reported. They reported that he paid $318,672 in taxes in 2017.
That’s a pretty big difference. Why isn’t Trump calling anyone on this? Why isn’t he talking about the other $317.922?
Because of where it went.
$15,598 was paid to the government of Panama.
$145,500 was paid to the government of India.
$156,824 was paid to the government of the Philippines.
Fewer than one out of every four hundred of his tax dollars went to his own country,
of which he’s President.
That might not go over well with the electorate. I hope Biden’s people notice it. It would be a very embarrassing thing to bring up at the debate.
It’s been printed in both The NY Times and the Washington Post, but being printed and being noticed are two different things.
Ron Powell
09/29/2020 @ 1:47 pm
Keep in mind that Trump reported the payments as ‘taxes’.
Those payments might well have been bribes he paid to government officials or some such other underhanded, unethical, or illegal offshore cash disbursements…
Koshersalaami
09/29/2020 @ 5:01 pm
I’m afraid some of his followers would find bribes more acceptable. Cost of doing business in Third World countries. I think keeping it as taxes is a better tactical idea.
Ron Powell
09/29/2020 @ 6:11 pm
@Koshersalaami,
As Bitey has stated, we’ll never dissuade his ‘followers’. It’s the fence sitters and flipped Obama voters who will break away and go with Biden if given sufficient motivation and impetus…
In my view the case is strongest on these points;
Paying 750 income tax during his first year in office;
Receiving a 73 million tax refund which is now in heated dispute and being audited by the IRS…Which may result in 100 million in tax liability, funds he doesn’t have.
421 million personal indebtedness due and payable within the next 4 years to unknown parties or entities creating a national security risk.
Again money he doesn’t have….
The people who feel conned and swindled out of their votes and trust will want to see Trump pay and would readily throw him under the electoral bus.
Koshersalaami
09/29/2020 @ 7:57 pm
We might have a couple of shots here. One is obvious, but the other isn’t, and I’m concentrating on this angle for a reason.
One of the things, if not the most important thing, that Trump followers have in common is they can’t stand to be taken advantage of. This being taken advantage of is usually mythical but it drives them, hard. It’s what they hate about minorities, it’s what they hate about programs for the poor, it’s what they hate about illegal immigrants. They’re getting something I’m not or they’re getting something I’m paying for, or both. This perception drives almost everything.
If he only paid $750 in taxes, they might look at that as skilled business, but if he’s paying over $300,000 to other countries’ governments while he’s only paying $750 to us, that constitutes us being shortchanged, and that’s exactly the sort of thing they can’t stand. He’s giving Panama, India, and the Philippines what should be Our Money?
It depends who we’re trying to shake. This angle goes to his core.
Ron Powell
09/29/2020 @ 9:19 pm
@Koshersalaami;
His core is unshakeable…
Ron Powell
09/30/2020 @ 12:38 am
Another thing or two….
Subtlety and nuance are not the strong suits of the American electorate.
Anything that takes more than a minute to explain to to people who have no more than a high school education, though factual and truthful is turned off and tuned out.
That’s why bumper sticker slogans tend to work better than winning the fine points in a debate.
We often win the debates while the messaging gets lost in the shuffle….
We often win debates and lose the crowd in the process….
Koshersalaami
09/30/2020 @ 7:54 am
“You paid way more taxes to foreign governments than your own” isn’t subtle
Ron Powell
09/30/2020 @ 11:51 am
I believe that this is much more effective and can be messaged directly to the average voter:
President Donald Trump reportedly paid a smaller income tax bill in 2017 than people earning between $20,000 and $25,000 did, according to one expert’s review of Internal Revenue Service data and a New York Times report into Trump’s taxes.
While Trump reportedly paid $750 after claiming large business losses to offset his income, a household earning between $20,000 and $25,000 faced an average $1,148 income tax liability.
I believe that the idea that Trump doesn’t pay his fair share in income taxes resonates much more strongly and effectively…
Koshersalaami
09/30/2020 @ 12:12 pm
Firstly, we’ll get that anyway.
However, his followers weren’t interested in his tax information being public. They made no big deal about it. I’m thinking they expected him to have paid next to nothing – like they assume a lot of rich people do – and so they’ve rationalized themselves out of that already.
But in this case someone else got what should be ours, which means the American people were treated unfairly compared to other nationalities, and now we’re dealing with a jealousy question and a question of being wronged. The Panamanians, Indians, and Filipinos get our money?