Are Trump's 2005 tax returns meaningless?

Yes.

Yes

Yes

As I mentioned in a previous question, they were most likely leaked by Trump himself in an attempt to distract the media and the public from what an abortion the Trumpcare bull bill is.

And, yes, the two pages are meaningless without the rest of the return.

Yes.

Some of his loyal followers will latch onto it, and use it as proof he pays a lot of taxes.

Seeing two pages out of who knows how many pages means almost nothing, and not seeing multiple tax returns over the years doesn’t give a full picture either.

Trump leaked his own 2 page tax returns to show he pays taxes.

It’s either there’s info enough to impeach him or not in the rest of his tax returns. Either way he will delay having them released as much as he and the Republican enablers can.

^^I don’t think he will “delay” I think he just won’t do it. He doesn’t have to.

@JLeslie I really think he will delay as much as he can even if there’s nothing damaging there. He and his cohorts are cruel people.

They are devious and malicious enough to know it will be devastatingly depressing for those who are hoping for anything to get him impeached if in the end his taxes are revealed only to divulge nothing.

Releasing the returns certainly removes the cloud of uncertainty Liberal narrative that Trump doesn’t pay taxes as the return clearly shows he does pay taxes. Plus Dems made a YUGE BFD deal over the discovery that in 1995 Trump “declared a $916 million loss in 1995. It was, the Times noted, “a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.” So here it was a mere 10 years later and Trump paid “about $38 million in taxes, Maddow said, and took what she referred to as “a $103 million write-down.” He also made more than $150 million, Maddow said”

I find it rather amusing that the very people who are making hay out of Trumps tax return probably don’t pay anything in Federal taxes themselves.

@Cruiser What do you mean by your last sentence? I’m sure both you and I pay a YUGE amount of Federal taxes.

@Cruiser – it’s a shame you ruined your comment – I agree completely with your first paragraph – by adding the second paragraph.

You wrote ”I find it rather amusing that the very people who are making hay out of Trumps tax return probably don’t pay anything in Federal taxes themselves.”.

I think that your assertion is inaccurate, unsubstantiated, and unnecessary. Sort of like you had to lash out at something.

Trump leaked one year cherry-picked return to “prove” how much he pays in taxes.

One decade-old return without the the supporting schedules doesn’t mean much.

In comparison Clinton released thirty-nine years of returns.

@elbanditoroso It’s a fact that 45.3 percent no Federal income tax. That is a LOT of people and I simply pointed out that it is my opinion many of them are the ones waving their hands over Trumps taxes. Again merely my opinion and will admit I have to way to substantiate my opinion that I formed other than by my own observations of the political Universe most of my adult life.

I think those returns likely paint him in the best light possible. Why 2005? It was the height of the real estate bubble. I’d like to see 2009 and of course 2015. I suspect when they are eventually revealed it will show that he is not as wealthy as we have been lead to believe.

It is like uploading pictures of yourself as a toddler to a dating site.

The fact that 2005 was the year tells me who was behind it or at least authorized it

I’m curious to see if he will leak more if someone else says they have more documents. There’s fire behind the smokescreen (or so the accountants tell me).

I did find it interesting that the tax he paid (for the most part) was a tax type he’s been trying to abolish. Not surprising, interesting. He runs pretty true to form.

I really don’t care how much taxes he paid or didn’t pay as long as his taxes are an honest accounting of his holdings and earnings and all the other things required for a tax return.

I am curious what he owns and where his earnings come from. That has zero to do with how much money he makes, or how much he pays in taxes.

I do care that he follows the tax law. Whether I agree or disagree with the law is a separate topic.

I didn’t care when Romney said he paid around 13% tax, or whatever he said when he was asked off the cuff, as long as it’s legal.

My deal politically is that I feel we need to change some tax laws. I also do very much care if my president is evading taxes illegally. I’m not accusing Trump of that, I’m just saying if he is I’m not ok with it.

We already know the top 400 earners in the country pay on average 17% federal tax. They make over $200 million a year each of those 400 top earners. That’s a stat from several years ago, but I doubt it has changed much.

There are plenty of examples of the tax laws and how they work and who they benefit. You don’t need Trump specifically to demonstrate it.

Moreover, a lot of republicans I know think the wealthy should be able to keep their money, and not pay high taxes, so they probably really won’t care if Trump paid a very low percent. A lot of them talk in dollars not percentages. They will say to me, “she paid $3 million in taxes!” And, not care that she earned $20 million.

I like the two different responses to this in the media. It is either that he paid 38 million in taxes on the 150 million he earned or that he lost, and wrote off over 100 million.

Also, please note that This article states that “In the end, he had to write a check for $2,450,597, including penalties and interest for late payment.”

I love how Stephen Colbert made fun of Rachel Maddow on Late Night. She’s had it coming for a long time. I used to like her, but she has gone OTT. Stephen is right… it’s a ridiculous plant that poor magicians use.

I think so. As you said, they certainly don’t reflect anything about what should be his most recent tax returns.