Fecteau: Trump’s Taxes

Fecteau: Trump’s Taxes

G.O.P. presidential nominee Donald Trump’s supporters are bizarrely lionizing Trump’s tax avoidance. Trump incurred a loss of nearly one billion dollars in 1995, and as a result, may have avoided paying taxes for the next 20 years.  This flawed thinking is exactly why we have such a hard time paying for critical government services. People like Trump should be ridiculed and criticized for failing to pay taxes, not praised.  

First off, is tax avoidance something to be proud of? Apparently, to some Trump supporters, it is. Former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, called Trump a “genius” for potentially avoiding paying taxes. Giuliani went on to say Trump’s status as tax avoider would make him best suited to reform the tax code. 

That is a strange statement to make. Under Trump’s proposed tax plan, affluent people would pay even less in taxes – if that is possible. In other words, Trump is reforming the tax code to make it easier for the very rich, such as himself, to skirt the tax code as he did for potentially the last 20 years.  However, at this point, why even point to the litany of contradictions in such a poorly run campaign? 

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Trump also cites his tax avoidance as a sign of brilliance. I am not the brightest guy, but losing a billion dollars in one year seems irresponsible to begin with (just my opinion). I am not sure why we are rewarding such bad behavior with tax breaks; that should be changed – time now.  

Do the same loopholes exist for regular people? No. The loopholes in the tax code ensure the rich pay little or nothing in Trump’s case, and the working poor and middle class are taxed to death.  If Trump was a low-income earner on welfare, would he be glorified for such behavior? Again, likely not. There are low-come earners that shamefully do game system, but nowhere near the tune of one billion dollars – that is insane. 

Trump’s tax avoidance is exactly what is wrong with America’s fiscal policy. The rich find loopholes, and the rest of us are left out in the cold. Trump has the ability to hire fancy, yet expensive tax attorneys that assist him skirting paying taxes each year while your typical family does not have that luxury. In fact, most middle class families pay federal taxes (I know I do); I cannot say that for Trump.  

I do not enjoy paying taxes every year. I think they are simply too high, and wish they were simplified. However, we need to contribute to the society in which we live. Taxes pay for critical service such as healthcare, defense, and of course, our infrastructure. This should not be lost on the people who idolize tax avoiders like Trump. The loopholes in our tax code need to be eliminated so we can all faithful contribute to society as a whole; that is an important part of being a member of society.  

Want to know why our taxes so high? Look at people like Trump.  If more people like Trump paid taxes, we would likely reduce the tax burden on regular Americans. This is commonsense.  Because the well-off avoid paying taxes, the rest of us suffer; the government pays for services by taxing the rest of more each year. Trump’s scheme to avoid paying taxes is far from genius, it is insidious, and we all suffer in the long-term by paying an ungodly amount in taxes (#ThanksTrump). 

As of late, Congress is having a difficult time paying its bills. Its members just cannot seem to agree on how to generate the revenue needed to fund our government.  How much money would be generated from tax avoiders like Trump if the tax code was sincerely reformed? Apparently, in Trump’s case, at least one billion dollars. That is a lot of money we so desperately need.  

 

Matt Fecteau ([email protected]) of Pawtucket, Rhode Island lost to state Senator Jamie Doyle in 2016’s Democratic primary. He is a former White House national security intern and Iraq war veteran.