Revelation about Trump’s tax planning gives Biden plenty of ammo



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The revelation gives Biden a lot of ammunition: Here we have a president who plans taxes to such an extent that he barely has to pay income tax as he seeks the mandate of the American people to be reelected to control American public funds. The article further exacerbates the contradiction between the candidates. Trump appears to be a dubious business mogul who uses his position as a politician to salvage the rubble of his business.

The New York Times revelation published Sunday night shows Donald Trump paying small sums that disappear into federal income tax. During his first two years in the White House, in 2017 and 2018, the president paid the equivalent of about $ 6,700 in annual income taxes, compared to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who paid more than $ 900,000 each. during the years they were presidents, according to the New York Times. .

Trump is also deeply in debt. It owes borrowers between $ 300 million and $ 400 million, corresponding to between SEK 2.7 and 3.6 billion. Loans that he highly guarantees himself and that he must repay in the next three years. The article shows that the Trump organization’s business, its golf courses and hotels, sheds a lot of money every year.

Therefore, Trump is far from being as financially independent as he wants to appear. Rather, the president relies on interest groups and political friends who stay at his hotel and pay to hold conferences on his property. An important client during his stay at the White House has been authorities such as the Secret Service, the security force that pays taxes to stay at the president’s hotel when he plays golf.

For years, journalists, prosecutors and the political opposition have been seeking a breach of Trump’s remarks, which he has refused to disclose. The reveal, which offers a detailed picture of Trump’s business empire and creative tax planning, is sure to mark the culmination of the election campaign. Joe Biden activists had previously planned to portray the choice between Biden and Trump as a choice between Scranton and Park Avenue. Scranton is the working-class Pennsylvania town where Joe Biden grew up. Park Avenue is Manhattan’s answer to Strandvägen.

Joe Biden leads in national opinion polls. A survey by the Washington Post and ABC television, published this weekend before the New York Times revelation was developed, indicates that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris lead 53 percent over Donald Trump and 43 percent of Mike Pence among registered voters.

On the other hand, the “enthusiasm” is greater among Trump voters than among Biden voters. 65 percent of registered voters who intend to vote for Trump say they are “very excited” in their support for the incumbent president. But only 47 percent of registered voters who intend to vote for Biden say they are “very excited” about the Democrat.

It is possible that the same conflict between the men contributes to increasing the enthusiasm for Biden a little. He has a 50-year history of political compromise behind him. But he doesn’t have a roaring business empire in the basement. Rather, Biden has had a rule not to invest in stocks. Other than his homes and book income, he has few significant private financial assets. What has often been Biden’s problem so far in the election campaign, who has been a professional politician for half a century, may seem more attractive when you look at how precarious Trump is.

Less likely är that the revelation leads to a major Trump voter leakage. Major voters for the incumbent president are virtually immune to “negative” news about Trump. Paying just federal income taxes can probably be seen as a merit in some radical right-wing circles, where the tax is synonymous with theft and the welfare state is seen as an abomination trying to passivate citizens. As Trump himself said in a debate against Hillary Clinton in 2016: “Not paying taxes makes me smart.”

The New York Times investigation is not the first revelation that Trump is trying to undermine the state he runs. Rather, “deconstructing the administrative state” is a stated goal. Withholding state taxes is in line with that ambition. The president is consistent.

But the fact that the family business is doing so badly could have a negative effect on the president’s image as a successful businessman. The notion of Trump as a cold-blooded, oiled business mogul is important. It is thanks to him that many believe that he can lead the country’s economy. Fifty-nine percent say, according to the Washington Post / ABC, that Trump manages the economy “badly” or “not so well.” An improvement from August, when 68 percent rejected Trump’s handling of the economy. The president cannot afford to go back there.

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