So the average Joe (and Jolene) don\u2019t have time to go through all of the Trump tax return documents \u2013 or understand them. Nor do most of us have the time to read the reports on the tax returns that have been put out by the \u201cunbiased\u201d House Committee on Ways & Means or the Joint Committee on Taxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the average Joe (and Jolene) don\u2019t have time to go through all of the Trump tax return documents \u2013 or understand them. Nor do most of us have the time to read the reports on the tax returns that have been put out by the \u201cunbiased\u201d House Committee on Ways & Means or the Joint Committee on Taxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And no, I haven\u2019t read a whole lot of it either. I have a life. Better things to do. But I DID skim it a bit and I have read some articles about it. And now I am reporting to you some things that I have found to be interesting\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, it\u2019s lovely to know that Democrats are so good at spending our taxpayer money and taking the time they\u2019re supposed to be using to run the country to instead go after their political enemies. Really. It\u2019s just so heartwarming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So\u2026The House Committee on Ways & Means put out their 20-page report titled \u201cReport on the Internal Revenue Service\u2019s Mandatory Audit Program (Under the Prior Administration \u2013 2017 \u2013 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report whines about the fact that only one mandatory audit of Trump was started under the prior administration and that the program was \u201cotherwise dormant, at best\u201d and they recommend a statutory requirement for the mandatory examination of the President with disclosure of certain audit information and related returns in a timely manner. This should be done to \u201censure the integrity of the IRS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ha ha ha.
Integrity? That\u2019s rich. Lois Lerner, anyone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report states, \u201cNumerous investigative reports have revealed that the former President (Trump), through the complex arrangements of his personal and business finances, has engaged in aggressive tax strategies and decades-long tax avoidance schemes, including taking a questionable $916 million deduction, using a grantor trust to control assets, manipulating tax code provisions pertaining to real estate taxes, and extensively using pass- through entities. Media reports have also revealed that he benefited from massive conservation easements, and that certain of his golf courses failed to properly account for wages paid to employees, raising questions about compliance with payroll and Social Security tax laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Trump basically did what everyone else does who employs good tax preparers and attorneys. They use complex arrangements. Aggressive tax strategies. Tax avoidance. Questionable deductions. They manipulate code provisions that the IRS writes. They use pass- through entities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, they use the ridiculous and perverted tax code against itself whenever possible. It\u2019s called avoidance of legal theft by the government. Trump is not an anomaly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there\u2019s the mentioning of their reliance on \u201cmedia reports.\u201d Media reports are not facts. Didn\u2019t the Democrats rely on media reports to get FISA warrants for Trump and to use in the Mueller investigation and their entire Russiagate hoax? They feed lies to their media friends and then use those media reports for their investigations of political enemies. Pretty smart actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So never mind that most U.S. businesses are pass-through businesses (as the law allows). But Trump is bad. Orange Man Bad. HE is not supposed to take advantage of any \u201cloopholes\u201d or arrangements or strategies that might let him keep more of his own money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report also shows that the IRS is incompetent with not enough resources to actually do their job. In their \u201cfindings\u201d on page 24, they says, \u201cThe mandatory audit of the former President was conducted, mostly, by one revenue agent. The individual tax return of the former President included the activities of hundreds of related and pass-through entities, numerous schedules, foreign tax credits, and millions of dollars in NOL (net operating losses) carry forwards. The revenue agent noted that the lack of resources was the reason for not pursuing certain issues on the former President\u2019s returns. An internal IRS memo stated: \u201cWith over 400 flow-thru returns reported on the Form 1040, it is not possible to obtain the resources available to examine all potential issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also find that \u201cinsufficient IRS funding\u201d allows some taxpayers to take aggressive tax positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They go on to say, \u201cFormer IRS Commissioner Rettig testified before the Committee that the IRS does \u2018not have the resources to after the bigs or the superbigs, as we refer to them, and we get outgunned routinely in that space.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also say that the Congressional funding in the Inflation Reduction Act should ensure that the mandatory audit program is fully funded and staffed and that an audit team must be comprised of two senior IRS agents, a partnership specialist, a foreign specialist and a financial products specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So now you know why the Democrats added all of that additional funding for more IRS agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To go after their political enemies with gusto. And not just Trump. They\u2019re coming after the rest of us too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This piece was written by Liberty Paige on January 3, 2023. It originally appeared in\u00a0SteveGruber.com<\/a>\u00a0and is used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n