by "Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
Published 03/20/2017 at 10:19
by "Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
Published 03/20/2017 at 10:19
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STARS: 0
To me, they certainly are a curiousity. What do Oppos think?
"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/20/2017 at 10:22, STARS: 6
Only reason I care is that I’d like to know the leader of the free world is operating legally in terms of taxes. I don’t care what he paid, how much he’s worth, what tax breaks he got, as long as it’s all legal. But my interest in seeing his taxes is about a 2 on a 1-10 scale.
"fintail" (fintail)
03/20/2017 at 10:22, STARS: 9
He demanded them from Mittens, just another case where turnabout is fair play.
The “under audit, can’t release” is a crock of crap as well. Fits this regime to a tee.
"Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap" (ddadragon)
03/20/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 7
If you’re so determined to hide them, then you have something to hide in them. That’s how I see it at least.
"MrH42" (MrH42)
03/20/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 2
He gets audited every year. You think Joe Schmo glancing at his tax returns online have a better grasp on whether he’s committing felony tax evasion than the IRS auditors?
It’s nothing but a leftist talking point of outrage, that can be incorrectly aimed at the person following the rules instead of the people making the rules. It doesn’t matter in the slightest.
"McMike" (mcmike)
03/20/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 2
I feel the same way. If what he did was legal, then there’s no issue with me.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
03/20/2017 at 10:34, STARS: 2
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
03/20/2017 at 10:37, STARS: 1
Just to verify the President or Presidential candidate isn’t doing some seriously shady shenanigans.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 1
Unlikely, or people wouldn’t have voted for him, right?
"yamahog" (yamahog)
03/20/2017 at 10:39, STARS: 6
In the bigger scheme of awful shit his administration is doing, I really don’t care about the taxes that much. Just another example of how he seems to have little understanding or regard for the position, and they all should’ve been available during the election as usual and no one would have given a shit. But for fuck sake, Jimmy Carter had to give up the peanut farm and this walking conflict of interest who doesn’t understand the concept of a BLIND TRUST is running amok?
"TechBro" (techbro88)
03/20/2017 at 10:39, STARS: 7
It matters because he’s hiding his money and not paying his fair share of taxes. He believes that rich people should be taxed less and everyone else should be taxed more. Also, he’s probably involved in illegal activity.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 1
If he has nothing to hide, then unhide it.
"fintail" (fintail)
03/20/2017 at 10:43, STARS: 3
It’s also a good distraction from the real shortcomings of this swamp-filling gong show. Bannon is smiling.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
03/20/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 0
It depends on the person. Since he won the election, most people decided it didn’t matter that much.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
03/20/2017 at 10:48, STARS: 4
When it’s traditional to show them, it’s either that, or you’re making enough of a show of not showing them that you’re trying to distract everyone from something even worse.
Either way...
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 10:48, STARS: 1
Most
? Didn’t Trump have 2.7 million fewer votes than Clinton?
"WiscoProud" (wiscoproud)
03/20/2017 at 10:49, STARS: 1
He decided they didn’t matter to him much. His core base obviously doesn’t care, but everyone else from both parties still do
"fintail" (fintail)
03/20/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 1
The latter part nails it.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/20/2017 at 10:55, STARS: 2
For someone whose “minor platform” is tax reform, I would think he could show his tax returns, talk about how little he paid, then talk about how the system needs to be changed to eliminate illogical loopholes for people like him (say what you want about Warren Buffet, but I respect his whole “I pay very little in tax and that’s ridiculous” attitude). As it stands, I full believe he has done many illegal things and doesn’t want the hassle.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
03/20/2017 at 10:55, STARS: 2
Exactly. And by not unhiding it, he appears guilty.
There’s no reason for him to keep them hidden, unless there’s something embarrassing there.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
03/20/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 0
Yup - I don’t care if he made a dollar or a billion, as long as he operated legally and paid whatever is legally due.
But we don’t know at this point.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/20/2017 at 11:09, STARS: 1
In the interest of transparency.
Because every other president has done it.
The American people deserve to know exactly who they voted for and a large part of that is knowing how they handle money.
I know how much money my girlfriend makes, I know how much she has in student loans and I know how much money she is saving and I know she is an honest tax paying citizen. All things I’d want to know before I marry her, much like that, they are all things I want to know about someone who is our president.
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
03/20/2017 at 11:10, STARS: 1
No one in power is brave enough to press on the facts we already know, so they’re pretty pointless.
At most I see farsical bullshit parades like Rachel Maddow’s every time something is ‘leaked’, probably to distract from some stupid bullshit earlier in the week. But we gobble it up, myself included.
"fintail" (fintail)
03/20/2017 at 11:17, STARS: 0
I strongly suspect the “leaked” 2005 data was intentional.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
03/20/2017 at 11:27, STARS: 0
He’s probably hiding them to be more relatable for the average person that doesn’t make hundreds of millions a year, with line-item write-offs that exceed the incomes of most people.
Considering he’s a big fish, I’d be shocked if he didn’t get audited regularly. Us regular people with average salaries may never have to deal with an audit in our lifetimes.
"smobgirl" (smobgirl)
03/20/2017 at 11:31, STARS: 0
I got audited for a $10/HR job back about 12 years ago.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
03/20/2017 at 11:31, STARS: 0
While it may have not been the best choice of words, whomever voted for Trump decided him not releasing his tax returns wasn’t reason enough not to vote for him.
Your statements assume everyone who voted for Clinton did so because Trump didn’t release his returns when in reality there were plenty of reasons to not vote for him. They could have voted for Clinton and not cared about Trump not releasing his returns, putting them into the most category.
Then the elephant in the room, the group of people who didn’t vote. They decided they couldn’t be bothered to vote for the President, so by extension they don’t care about a tax return released or not released.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/20/2017 at 11:31, STARS: 2
That is such flawed logic. The auditors have a good grasp on it, sure. But we don’t know what they are grasping. There’s no transparency.
It’s not a leftist talking point of outrage. This is the leader of our nation. I want to know my girlfriends financial profile before I marry her, I damn sure want to know how my president handle’s money. I would’ve preferred the people knew before they voted for him, but none-the-less I still want to know.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
03/20/2017 at 11:34, STARS: 0
That’s down to the lottery. My parents got hit once, too.
It’s pretty rare, though. I don’t know anyone around my age that has ever mentioned being audited.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/20/2017 at 11:35, STARS: 0
I’d give it much more than a 2 out of 10. We have our president hiding things from us and it’s okay? It’s like not needing a credit check to get a home loan. It’s like not looking into your business partners finances when you start a business together. It’s all been done before, but it never went well. Why isn’t it of the utmost importance that our president be forthcoming with his taxes.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
03/20/2017 at 11:37, STARS: 1
If his leaked return is accurate, he’s paying a higher percentage than most presidents.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/20/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 2
Exactly, he claimed he could close those loopholes because he’s used them. Or at least that’s what the republicans in my office were claiming. So let’s start with him showing just which loopholes he used. But first he’ll likely close them via executive order for fear that people will use said loopholes in the weeks leading up to the loopholes being closed. Loopholes... Poopholes. He’s a poophole.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 11:42, STARS: 2
I tend to think that the guy is a lot less wealthy than he pretends and the issue could be as “small” as that.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/20/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 2
As a guy who grew up in the 80s and 90s, Trump was always “That scumbag who is always dodging laws, taxes, and declaring bankruptcy constantly.” That was completely apolitical — basically everyone saw him that way. And I agree, if he has much wealth left, it wasn’t from honesty, integrity, and business acumen. It was from sheer luck and timing of real estate markets.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 11:47, STARS: 1
Rachel Maddow is just a cog in the contemptible machinations of entertainment journalism cable talk rubbish.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 11:47, STARS: 1
Highly plausible.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 11:52, STARS: 0
My statements? Plural? I try to be pretty careful about what I type. I was merely being pedantic about your use of the word
most
and, reminding us all, implicitly, of Donald Trump’s major insecurity about having lost the popular vote by a significant margin. When I said, “or people wouldn’t have voted for him, right?” I was responding to your “seriously shady shenanigans” comment.
"fintail" (fintail)
03/20/2017 at 12:06, STARS: 0
At least for one year, more than a decade ago, “leaked” when the heat from 1000 other errors was getting too hot.
"TechBro" (techbro88)
03/20/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 1
That return wasn’t “leaked”, it was intentionally cherry picked and released. Probably to distract from all the other shit he’s doing. Anyone with half a brain can see that.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
03/20/2017 at 12:35, STARS: 0
They’re all #leaks Brent
"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
03/20/2017 at 12:36, STARS: 1
I honestly don’t care how MUCH money he makes, or how much taxes ha paid on it. As others have stated, being a high income individual I’m sure he’s been audited enough times, or is constantly under the threat of audit, to be paying what he’s supposed to (using every loophole in the book allowed to him, of course – again nothing wrong with that per se) for the most part. Quite honestly I think he’s far less wealthy than he’s making himself out to be.
What I DO care about is getting more information on the sources of his income, what kind of debt he has (and WHOM he is indebted to). Is there (more) evidence that he is breaking the emoluments clause? How extensive are his conflicts? Technically according to the law while conflict of interest laws don’t apply to the president I’d say they’re awfully pertinent. In every single thing he’s pushing – what does he stand to gain, if anything? Which foreign governments does he owe money to?
This is tangential to the tax
returns, but after all the screams of divesting his investments all he did was
hand over day-to-day operations of his business to his sons. He still OWNS the
investments. How do people not care about this? It matters to get any insight
possible as to the income sources and the indebtedness of his businesses as
well – because HE knows what it is, and policy he enacts certainly will impact
the bottom line of these companies he owns. The people have the right to know
if he’s watching out purely for the good of the country or trying to use his
position to influence decisions that will benefit his pocket book first.
Oh just imagine if Obama had been in this mess what the
republicans would’ve put him through. And quite honestly I’ll hand it to them,
they would’ve been far more skilled at getting what they wanted.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 1
In my opinion, if you wanna be POTUS, then your tax returns should become public. The concretely say what you’re about in many ways.
"IAN_Z" (theonline)
03/20/2017 at 12:50, STARS: 3
There are quite a few reasons why it’s become a tradition to release your returns every year, the foremost one being transparency. It really started with Nixon, who was under suspicion of shady donations to charity.
And that’s why not releasing them is so suspicious to me. The reason he gave (being under audit) didn’t make any sense, as other candidates have released theirs while being audited.
Either he’s not as rich as he says he is, he hasn’t paid taxes in many years, or releasing them will disclose that he owes money to foreign powers. *coughRussiacoughChinacough*
"IAN_Z" (theonline)
03/20/2017 at 13:01, STARS: 4
From the link @ttyymmnn posted below:
From tax returns we learn :
Yearly income of the candidate
How much the candidate paid in taxes and the tax rate
What deductions and tax credits claimed
Real estate taxes and abatements
Investments
How much the candidate gave to charity (which could shed light on their values and priorities)
To whom the candidate owes money
Who are the candidates in business with and the financial positions of those companies (whether they have had gains or losses)
May indicate if money is being held offshore
On the financial disclosure forms :
Outside Income
Gifts
Assets/property owned
Specific investments/trusts
Possible conflicts of interest
Certain transactions/agreements made with businesses and people
Positions held at different companies outside of the government
Liabilities
"TheD0k_2many toys 2little time" (thed0ck)
03/20/2017 at 13:01, STARS: 0
i was going to post something similar to this haha.
I honestly dont care. He makes tons of money and im sure has many people do his taxes for him. move on with your lives
"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/20/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 0
If there was some suspicion he may be hiding something I’d probably agree with you, but there’s no long standing theory that he was evading taxes that I know of. People want to see the taxes to see if there’s anything wrong, and that’s never been how this works. Its like needed a warrant to arrest somebody, you need to have a reason for it before you can go inside somebody’s house to look around. You can’t just go in there and book them for what you found, that’s illegal.
I’m not a Trump guy, I didn’t vote for him. But it seems to me that people are upset about not seeing the taxes not because they think they’ll find something but because they hope to, and hoping to find something isn’t a reason to do it. I’m not interested in that precedent being set.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
I think the legislature should codify a law that requires that every candidate for POTUS present their tax returns and their birth certificate. Easy.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 1
Thanks for weighing in. IMHO, the legislature should pass a simple law requiring every candidate for POTUS to post their tax returns and their birth certificate. Easy.
Then
we can
all
move on to the next side show.
"TheD0k_2many toys 2little time" (thed0ck)
03/20/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0
yea that would be pretty easy. half the time these stories are just made to stir people up and distract from other things
"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/20/2017 at 14:52, STARS: 0
If there was some smoke that maybe he was doing something wrong you could maybe talk me into the outrage, but it’s just people grasping at straws trying to find him doing something illegal because they don’t like him. The police don’t get to raid your house and then incriminate you on what they find, they need probable cause and there is none with Trump.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/20/2017 at 16:49, STARS: 0
This is a misguided analogy. We need a warrant to arrest someone, otherwise we wouldn’t be a civilized society. This has nothing to do with Trump’s tax returns. I want his tax returns to be public because he is my president, I want that transparency. The past 9 republic presidents did it, why not him? As I mentioned in other comments, when you run for office, especially the highest office, you have to be willing to give up much of your privacy in the interest of the American people.
You aren’t interested in a precedent being set??? The precedent HAS ALREADY BEEN SET, the precedent is to make your taxes available!
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/20/2017 at 16:51, STARS: 0
This is not a comparable to hunting down a criminal! This guy decided to run for the highest office in this country, therefore he needs to, in the interest of transparency, release his tax information. You made this analogy in another post and it’s just so misguided.
"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/20/2017 at 18:39, STARS: 0
How is it misguided? The law is the law whether you’re the President or Joe Jerkoff: your taxes aren’t a matter of public record. If you want to change the rule for the President, that’s fine, make it a law that you need to release your tax returns if you’re running. But that law doesn’t exist right now, and he’s not obligated to show you.
As to your other reply to me about it not being comparable to hunting down a criminal, that’s just the point, it isn’t comparable to going after a criminal. You have a suspicion that a criminal did something wrong, so you get a warrant and you go into their house. What you want to do is take somebody who has done nothing wrong and go into their house to see if they did. You don’t want transparency, you want to find him doing something wrong.
I guess my issue with doing this in the name of ‘transparency’ is where does it end? You get his taxes, fine. You want his medical records next? Brower history? Brazzers account? It would be good if he would do it voluntarily, but I’m just not interested in forcing somebody to do it because I don’t want them to force me to do it.
But if you don’t mind the precedent being set that tax returns become public, why don’t you go first? Post your last five tax returns in a blog on Oppo. Right up there on the front page. I don’t have any reason to suspect theres anything nefarious in them, but I just want the transparency.
"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/20/2017 at 18:52, STARS: 0
It also just occurred to me that we might be having two different conversations. If you’re saying he should do it voluntarily, I agree with you. I disagree that he should be forced to.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
03/20/2017 at 19:15, STARS: 0
I didn’t care until it became obvious he is hiding something, and if that something can be found in his tax returns than we’ll benefit. The sooner he is removed from office the better...the longer he is there the harder it will be to repair the damage done.
I’m still in disbelief he got elected as it was obvious before he got the nomination that he’s 100% unfit to hold this office. He’s doing nothing but rigging the system to benefit the rich and embarrassing us as a country.
It should be mandatory to hold political office before anyone can become President.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 20:19, STARS: 0
I disagree with your last point. Any 35-year-old American Citizen should be allowed to serve.
All those folks voted for Trump then he turned around and cut all their programs. The 2018 election ought to be interesting.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
03/20/2017 at 22:05, STARS: 0
Amen. It wasn’t even a good effort to hide the leaker-
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
03/20/2017 at 22:47, STARS: 0
To ensure he isn’t indebted to someone. When you run a whole campaign accusing the other candidate is corrupt, you better be squeaky clean. Also sketchy when you admit to bribing politicians.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
How he hasn’t fully divested from his business interests.
Given Manaforts connections in Ukraine and the transition team poor vetting of Flynn, it raises the suspicion if there isn’t more fuckery going on.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
03/20/2017 at 22:54, STARS: 1
given that forbes and trump have had a running hostility for 20 years, over how much hes worth, it wouldn’t surprise me.
that he’s a self financing billionaire was the first thing all my relatives said.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/21/2017 at 07:44, STARS: 1
I’m not your president, I don’t need to justify my taxes to you.
I have a suspicion a criminal does something wrong, yes. I also expect someone that voluntarily signed up for the highest office in this country to follow suit (of those before him) and release his taxes. Furthermore I expect him to put his assets in a blind trust, not with his sons and finally, medical records? Maybe. There’s less room for foul play there, he is either healthy or he isn’t. That’s all I need to know. There aren’t health loopholes like there are tax loopholes.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/21/2017 at 07:46, STARS: 1
A little of that, maybe. The problem is though that he isn’t doing it voluntarily, someone with business interests like him i think it’s especially important that he be transparent about his finances. But he isn’t transparent or truthful about ANYTHING. I really just don’t think he deserves the presidency. But he has it.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
03/21/2017 at 07:47, STARS: 1
another reason is to show how good of a businessman you are. A core justification for his run was that he is a business god. In 2005, Deutsche bank thought he was worth only 800 mil and in later lawsuits came up that a huge amount of his self assessed value is “brand value”, If you’re a business god prove it.
"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/21/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 1
I think we probably agree more than we disagree here. He should be being more upfront about his finances, and he’s impressively teflon with this stuff...it seems to be unique to him that he can do things that would get other politicians to resign, and he comes out of it fine.
I mean he won the presidency, but I get what you mean with saying he doesn’t deserve it. He’s done literally everything wrong and it resulted in him being the most powerful man in the world. I still can’t fathom the words “President Donald J. Trump”, it’s just crazy.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
03/21/2017 at 08:46, STARS: 1
“he’s done literally everything wrong”
Amazing isn’t it? I can’t believe everyone defended him long enough for him to become president and they still continue to do so.
"Justino6969" (justino6969)
03/21/2017 at 16:37, STARS: 0
Not singling you out;
I see this argument a lot. Yeah sure popular vote whatever, but 2.7 million is 2% of the total vote count. Counting in the inherent inaccuracies, I would say it’s statistically irrelevant.
On topic, I really don’t care about his returns. We already know he’s in the top tax bracket, and he’s not in jail for tax evasion, so that’s good enough for me.
"Justino6969" (justino6969)
03/21/2017 at 16:39, STARS: 0
Not paying his fair share? The highest tax bracket isn’t a fair share?
"Rico" (ricorich)
03/21/2017 at 18:56, STARS: 0
“it seems to be unique to him that he can do things that would get other politicians to resign, and he comes out of it fine.”
It’s because most politicians resign on their own even when forced they ultimately are the ones putting pen to paper. He realized (and I hate that I’m saying this) that if you have enough support that you don’t have to put that pen to paper, just can just keep on trucking through your term.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/21/2017 at 19:26, STARS: 1
I’ve been wonderfully married for 27 years; I’d like to see you try to single me out. ;o)
2.7 million people are many. I am not arguing that the outcome should be different or changed, but I think it’s a factoid worth keeping around. I mean, weren’t there 2.7 million people on the Capitol Lawn for the inauguration?
I think Congress should pass a law that every candidate for POTUS posts their birth certificate and their tax returns. Piece of cake; end of story.
"Justino6969" (justino6969)
03/21/2017 at 19:34, STARS: 0
Agreed. Applying for candidacy really should have a list of required materials with the intention that they will be made public. If you’re going to represent the people, the people should have access to anything about you they want to know.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/21/2017 at 22:13, STARS: 0
Agreed.
"TechBro" (techbro88)
03/22/2017 at 07:56, STARS: 0
No, no it’s not. The highest tax bracket should be at least 50-60%.