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Quote:Donald Trump’s tax records show more than $21m in highly unusual payments from the Las Vegas hotel he owns with Phil Ruffin was routed through other Trump companies and then paid out in cash, The New York Times reports. The sudden windfall in 2016 came as Trump’s presidential campaign was short on funds. Tax records seen by the Times do not specify what the payments were used for, but they do show they flowed through to Trump himself. Towards the end of his run for president, Trump unexpectedly contributed $10m to the campaign.
The funds went through a company named Trump Las Vegas Sales and Marketing that, according to the tax records investigation, had little previous income, no clear business purpose, and no employees. The hotel joint venture wrote the whole amount off as a business expense. Legal and tax experts consulted by the paper say that if the payments were not used for actual business expenses, and were claimed as such to get a tax deduction, then that would be illegal. In addition, if they were not legitimate expenses and were used to fund the Trump presidential campaign, they could also be considered illegal under campaign-finance laws.
Trump benefited from ‘highly unusual’ $21m windfall from Vegas hotel in 2016, NYT claims | The Independent
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Quote:A New York Times analysis of tax records showed that more than 200 companies, special-interest groups and foreign governments have funneled millions of dollars to President Trump’s properties while reaping benefits from the president and his administration.
Nearly a nearly a quarter of the entities have not been previously reported.Sixty patrons, who promoted specific interests to the Trump administration, spent almost $12 million on expenses associated with the Trump Organization during the first two years of Trump’s presidency. The Times reported nearly all of these customers saw their interests move forward. .
Tax records show 200 entities funneled money to Trump properties while reaping benefits from White House: NYT | TheHill
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Quote:Trump did not mention the Times report specifically, nor did he deny any of its details, as he often does with media coverage that he views as unfavorable or critical. The Times reported Tuesday that Trump’s lenders have forgiven roughly $287 million in debt he did not pay since 2010.
The report, based on federal income tax records obtained by the newspaper, is part of a broader series on the president’s finances that began in September with a report that Trump only paid $750 in federal income tax in both 2016 and 2017. Trump has denied those details while refusing to provide information on the taxes he did pay, citing an ongoing IRS audit. He has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, despite the precedent established by previous presidents.
Most of the debt is said to be related to the Chicago property, a 92-floor Trump International Hotel and Tower that was completed around the time of the 2008 financial crisis. The Times reported Tuesday that the property was plagued by problems, with retail space proving difficult to rent and condos difficult to sell..
Trump defends business practices after report he failed to pay millions in debt | TheHill
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Quote:How do you get a bank to forgive almost $300 million in loans for a failed real estate project? You act like Donald Trump. This, from The New York Times about a Chicago skyscraper built by Trump that led to him to incur $287 million in unpaid debt by 2010, is remarkable: "When the project encountered problems, he tried to walk away from his huge debts. For most individuals or businesses, that would have been a recipe for ruin. But tax-return data, other records and interviews show that rather than warring with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking client, lenders cut Mr. Trump slack — exactly what he seemed to have been counting on." The key line there is this: "Rather than warring with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking client, lenders cut Mr. Trump slack — exactly what he seemed to have been counting on." Which means this: Donald Trump was such a public bully that the lenders preferred to work to eat the debt (or a large portion of it) rather than risk a fight with him because, well, they had made the calculation it simply wasn't worth it. Which, judging from Trump's record of litigiousness, wasn't the worst decision.
Donald Trump's secret sauce for not paying his debts - CNNPolitics
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