• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Trump's Tax Returns

The Clinton Foundation is but a shadow of it's former self due to extensive pay for play. They took money from all sorts of shady characters and countries.

Yeah you keep spouting off that lie that even a Republican President, appointing a Republican DoJ, Republican Congress for 2 years couldn't even crack. So Trump is either the most incompetent President EVER or the Clinton foundation is clean. Take your pick con. :lamo
 
I read up on this before. There is a process for demanding the tax returns (no surprise there), and there is a process for making the findings of the returns public, and in each case, the House Ways and Means Committee would have to demonstrate that their request and their public release would meet demands above petty political harassment or embarrassment. And this isn't just some legislative principle or tradition; this is something that's baked in law.

I don't think anybody here really believes that the Ways and Means Committee would have difficulty demonstrating a legitimate demand.

You were going good until your last sentence.
 
People who've thought about this issue for more than a few days have already come to the realization that there isn't going to be some part of his returns where we'll finally see, "1 billion dollar payment from Vladimir Putin in return for destabilization of United States." Rather, we need to see his tax returns to have a better understanding of where his money is coming from and therefore where his personal obligations may lie. As it stands, the best we have is a pretty fuzzy understanding of his business structures that allows us to discern their shapes only by the shadows they cast. It's not enough to see the shapes of the cast shadows, however. We need to see the true nature of the business structure itself, and that will almost certainly be the beginning of the process to understanding the rest of his financial and personal obligations.

Since most of his money comes from the US then it is obvious that his personal obligations are to the US. Thanks for clearing that up.
 
To those talking about making disclosure of tax returns a law: I don't think I like that idea much, being obligated to disclose one's personal finances.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that Trump is hiding his because he's a tax cheat, and I would like to see that exposed, but his die-hard Trumpanzees will still find ways to defend him, which truly sickens me.

Trump claims he's under audit every year. The only people who get audited every year are the known cheaters. Just sayin'.

I'm pretty sure Trump is hiding his because he knows that there are things in there which aren't illegal that his opponents would seize on for partisan purposes. If he is a tax cheat then we have an agency which handles that. It is called the IRS, not the US House of Representatives.
 
Yep. We could investigate tax returns from Schumer, Pelosi, Gates, Soros, Warren, Sanders, Clintons, Buffet, Michael Moore, etc and find all kinds of irregularities and others they are beholden to.

I just wish they would simplify the tax codes dramatically if we are going to continue with an income tax. I would prefer a federal consumption tax, and eliminate income tax. Everyone simply pays a straight percentage of income past say $30k, indexed to inflation quarterly. Make it by paycheck. Nobody would need to file a tax return, except places where congress still allows deductions. The percentage would need to be about 19%, if I remember correctly. So...

Paid weekly, workers would pay 19% of all income above $576.92.

Paid every two weeks, workers would pay 19% of all income above $1153.85.

Paid monthly, workers would pay 19% of all income above $2500.

etc.

The left might like this as people with two jobs might fall off the radar making more than $30k.
 
To those talking about making disclosure of tax returns a law: I don't think I like that idea much, being obligated to disclose one's personal finances.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that Trump is hiding his because he's a tax cheat, and I would like to see that exposed, but his die-hard Trumpanzees will still find ways to defend him, which truly sickens me.

Trump claims he's under audit every year. The only people who get audited every year are the known cheaters. Just sayin'.

I'm sorry you have such a view.
 
Don't you fill out your 1099-FU?

Section One covers Foreign Bribes.
;)

Exactly. There is nothing to be found in Trump's tax returns other than info that is not illegal in any way that Democrats would love to use against him for political purposes.
 
Nice conspiracy nonsense, however, Mueller isn't the only one that can investigate.

The House wants to add additional investigations because they have no faith in Mueller finding anything. By the way, the House has already investigated.
 
Yeah you keep spouting off that lie that even a Republican President, appointing a Republican DoJ, Republican Congress for 2 years couldn't even crack. So Trump is either the most incompetent President EVER or the Clinton foundation is clean. Take your pick con. :lamo

After Hillary lost, donations to the Clinton Foundation well dried up.
 
The House wants to add additional investigations because they have no faith in Mueller finding anything. By the way, the House has already investigated.

Wake me when you actually PROVE something illegal the Clinton Foundation has done. Until that time let the reality soak in that the Trump foundation had to close due to it's corruptness. :lamo
 
After Hillary lost, donations to the Clinton Foundation well dried up.

/yawn, still not showing anything illegal the Clinton Foundation has done while your dumb corrupt boy Trump had to shut his down. :lamo
 
I just wish they would simplify the tax codes dramatically if we are going to continue with an income tax. I would prefer a federal consumption tax, and eliminate income tax. Everyone simply pays a straight percentage of income past say $30k, indexed to inflation quarterly. Make it by paycheck. Nobody would need to file a tax return, except places where congress still allows deductions. The percentage would need to be about 19%, if I remember correctly. So...

Paid weekly, workers would pay 19% of all income above $576.92.

Paid every two weeks, workers would pay 19% of all income above $1153.85.

Paid monthly, workers would pay 19% of all income above $2500.

etc.

The left might like this as people with two jobs might fall off the radar making more than $30k.

Interesting idea.
 
Trump should classify them as top secret so they can only be viewed in their unredacted form in a supervised room. He should play the same games the fbi is playing with the documents they find potentially embarrassing to them.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Uhm, .... he can’t do that.
 
Just because his returns may show connections to Russia as an international businessman does in no way prove that Trump is beholden to them. How on Earth can a tax return show that someone is beholden to a foreign country? Trump does business in many countries, probably the most in the US. Therefore, Trump must be beholden to the US. Now, if you want to prove beholden, then let's investigate the Clinton Foundation's pay for play schemes. That's where you will find beholden.

Red:
If his 2017 or 2018 tax returns show one cent/ruble received from a Russian state-owned/controlled entity, beholden to Russia or not, or any sum received from any other foreign state-/monarch-owned entity, that cent/ruble is incontrovertible, "smoking gun" evidence that Trump violated the emoluments clause.


Blue:
As goes the emoluments clause, the burden of proof isn't the nature, extent or absence of beholdenness; it's whether an emolument was received.
 
Last edited:
Red:
If his 2017 or 2018 tax returns show one cent/ruble received from a Russian state-owned/controlled entity, beholden to Russia or not, or any sum received from any other foreign state-/monarch-owned entity, that cent/ruble is incontrovertible, "smoking gun" evidence that Trump violated the emoluments clause.

That is separate from legitimate business.

Keep fishing. The longer the better as we don't needed this silly tripe.
 
Since most of his money comes from the US then it is obvious that his personal obligations are to the US. Thanks for clearing that up.

The statement, "most of his money comes from the US is obvious" is less than the razor sharp detail we're looking for.
 
Red:
You just keep thinking that....

Well, then prove the business is not legitimate, or please stop.

Unlike you, I do believe in the concept of "innocent until proven guilty." Only those hating him are pushing this, and they have been caught wrong and lying already. Sp please, give it a break until you find proof.
 
Well, we pretty much know that the House will get Trump's tax returns at some point. The burning question is, what are they going to do with them? Are they going to be kept private in committee or are they going to be released to the full House or what? How much legal rights do the House have in regards to making his tax returns or pieces of information in them public? Can they just willy nilly release any information from them that they want just for political purposes or are they obligated to keep the returns private?

I am almost 100% certain that those tax returns would show a couple of things
1. The man is not a billionaire.
2. He has lied to the public about almost everything to do with his businesses.

As much as I would appreciate that public humiliation, his tax returns are private, and should remain so, unless Trump himself decides to make them public.

I suppose they could become public if they were introduced as evidence in some court proceeding.
 
Well, we pretty much know that the House will get Trump's tax returns at some point. The burning question is, what are they going to do with them? Are they going to be kept private in committee or are they going to be released to the full House or what? How much legal rights do the House have in regards to making his tax returns or pieces of information in them public? Can they just willy nilly release any information from them that they want just for political purposes or are they obligated to keep the returns private?

Even if they get a hold of his tax returns. they cannot release them to anyone.
they are still considered private documents that only trump can authorize to release.

if someone else other than the committee does get their hands on them and publish them then there needs to be an immediate investigation
and the person that leaked them arrested.

it is a federal crime to release tax returns without someone's authorization.
 
I am almost 100% certain that those tax returns would show a couple of things
1. The man is not a billionaire.
2. He has lied to the public about almost everything to do with his businesses.

As much as I would appreciate that public humiliation, his tax returns are private, and should remain so, unless Trump himself decides to make them public.

I suppose they could become public if they were introduced as evidence in some court proceeding.

He lost the right to that privacy when he defrauded the United States, when he became President and when he continued to demonstrate, while President, behavior that he's not loyal to the United States. He's not a normal person, and his behavior is not normal.
 
It should be important to EVERYONE to find out if a candidate is beholden to a foreign entity. I guess since it is Trump you are against transparency. Typical con.

And how is his tax returns going to show that?
 
Back
Top Bottom