Tax Fraud G&M

Yesterday afternoon, the New York Times published a major, deeply researched article (link here) with the title "Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father." The piece has a companion executive-summary style article (link here) with the title "11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth."

An excerpt:

Donald "Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents."

"Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire.... But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day."

"Much of this money came to Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents.... Records indicate that Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings."

Hopefully Robert Mueller's criminal investigation has already been combing through Trump's tax returns. He could be prosecuted either in civil or criminal court -- or both -- for tax fraud if certain requirements are met (details here).

At a minimum, any political opponent of Donald Trump of both parties, whether in 2018 or 2020, should beat him over the head with this. No one wants to pay more taxes then necessary, but when they use fraudulent means to pay their fair share, then they need to be held accountable, both at the ballot box and in a court of law.