Avoiding Taxes Trump-Style By THE EDITORIAL BOARD • NOV. 1 2016 Damon Winter The New York Times Donald Trump s claim that he was smart for figuring out how not to pay federal income taxes was obnoxious when he said it at least for the millions of Americans...
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Avoiding Taxes Trump-Style By THE EDITORIAL BOARD • NOV. 1 2016 Damon Winter The New York Times Donald Trump s claim that he was smart for figuring out how not to pay federal income taxes was obnoxious when he said it at least for the millions of Americans who pay their fair share. Now we learn that he was able to avoid some of those taxes decades ago with a tactic that is illegal now and was highly dubious even then. In the 1990s with his Atlantic City casinos and other businesses tottering on the verge of collapse Mr. Trump negotiated a deal under which his creditors — investors and banks — would forgive part of the debt in exchange for equity in partnerships he controlled. Without such swaps Mr. Trump would have had to report the forgiven debt as income offsetting a big portion of the $916 million loss he claimed on his tax return in 1995. That loss allowed him to avoid paying taxes for up to 18 years. It is impossible to know whether the Internal Revenue Service challenged
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