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How a $300 tax deduction proves Donald Trump makes less than half a million dollars
Crain's ^ | 03/08/2016 | Aaron Elstein

Posted on 03/08/2016 11:54:52 AM PST by GIdget2004

One of the enduring mysteries of Donald Trump is just how much wealth he has. Forbes pegs his net worth at $4.5 billion, while Bloomberg News puts it at $2.9 billion. The GOP front-runner himself has said he's "really rich."

Maybe, but Trump's income is low enough to qualify for a New York state property-tax break that most high-rollers don't get.

It's called the STAR program, which stands for the New York State School Tax Relief Program and has been around since 1997. It offers an approximately $300 annual benefit for those who qualify. Hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners get it.

Here's where it gets interesting for Trump: To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less. One wouldn't think a guy as rich as Trump claims to be would qualify, but records filed with the city's Department of Finance show he received a $302 STAR benefit on his latest property-tax bill for his Trump Tower penthouse on Fifth Avenue.

That means whatever his annual income is, it's less than $500,000. (The state defines income for STAR purposes as federal adjusted gross income minus the taxable amount of total distributions from annuities or individual retirement accounts.) And Trump would have to have declared his New York apartment as his permanent residence and sent the state a copy of his federal income-tax return in order to qualify for the $302 tax break.

"It's strange that a billionaire would apply for a $302 tax benefit and, moreover, that he would take it," said Martha Stark, a property-tax expert and former New York City finance commissioner who is now a lecturer at Baruch College. A Trump spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

(Excerpt) Read more at crainsnewyork.com ...


TOPICS: Cheese, Moose, Sister
KEYWORDS: 1stcanadiansenator; gangof14; moosebitsister; mud; mudmud; mudmudmud; mudmudmudmud; mudmudmudmudmud; mudmudmudmudmudmud; propagandadujour; spam; tdscoffeclutch; tediban; tedspacificpartners; unipartyops; usualsuspect; willthemudstick
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To: GIdget2004

annual income of $500,000 or less does not equal a measure of wealth.

I know millionaires who pay literally no income tax. Munis baby...


21 posted on 03/08/2016 12:05:01 PM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: GIdget2004

Simple minded BS. These sick people are really reaching. They live in la la land.

Trump for President.


22 posted on 03/08/2016 12:05:39 PM PST by Logical me
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To: GIdget2004

CPA’s preparing tax returns automatically take every deduction possible.


23 posted on 03/08/2016 12:06:36 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to to God!)
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To: Solson

Looks like when he bought politicians, he got his money’s worth!


24 posted on 03/08/2016 12:07:09 PM PST by Aevery_Freeman (Historians will refer to this administration as "The Half-Black Plague.")
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To: GIdget2004

Sounds like something Charlie Rangel would do.


25 posted on 03/08/2016 12:08:01 PM PST by Kenton
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To: GIdget2004

Not unusual. He owns tremendous wealth outright; that doesn’t mean his INCOME is high. There are a number of major CEOs (Steve Jobs a prime example) who have/had an annual income of literally $1. Route your income into un- & delayed-tax forms (401k, stocks & options, etc) and merge life with business (expensive dinner out? fancy car? home doubling as conference center? business expenses). Also consider bulk & pre-paid discounts (oil changes for life? yeah, that’ll be 75% off, sir) to reduce long-term predictable expenses. Or just turn every expense into a business (oil changes for life? how about I just _buy_ the oil change franchise, run it at a profit, and pay nothing of my own to get my oil changed?).

You don’t need much of an income if you own everything you have, don’t need more, and can write most of your costs off as business expenses or even turn it into a profitable business venture.

That’s one of the perverse aspects of “soak the rich”: the _really_ rich know how to drive their income to near $0, if they haven’t done so already. Steve Jobs and George Bush live[d] rather humble lives, their homes about 4000 sq ft on modest properties and living simply therein (Steve was often seen thru the kitchen window washing dishes by hand).

Trump might very well be worried at public reaction when everyone discovers his income is no larger than the guy in the McMansion nearby.


26 posted on 03/08/2016 12:09:46 PM PST by ctdonath2 (History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. - Ike)
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To: The_Republic_Of_Maine
Care to explain how you keep a 737 in the air on half a million a year, My Dad really wants to know.

His company provides it as a perk, it doesn't count as income.

27 posted on 03/08/2016 12:10:07 PM PST by Kenton
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To: GIdget2004

It could be the income he claims AFTER all his other expenses are paid.


28 posted on 03/08/2016 12:12:26 PM PST by Slyfox (Ted Cruz does not need the presidency - the presidency needs Ted Cruz)
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To: Logical me

Most of his income would be within corporations where it is offset by lots of business expenses. He may allow very little income to reach him but his companies and properties would pay all kind of taxes.

As to the statement that most billionaires wouldn’t take the tiny deduction, how many billionaires do they have, did they search all their tax records, and what’s wrong with taking a legal deduction?


29 posted on 03/08/2016 12:13:01 PM PST by Williams (Dear God, please save us from the Democrats. And the Republicans.)
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To: GIdget2004

Isn’t the game plan with taxes and the IRS to show as little profit and total worth as possible? Everyone I know that has a business does everything they can to NOT pay more in taxes.


30 posted on 03/08/2016 12:13:09 PM PST by MagnoliaB (You can't always get what you want but if you try sometime you might find, you get what you need.)
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To: GIdget2004

He’s a scot! LOL!


31 posted on 03/08/2016 12:16:07 PM PST by Lopeover (2016 Election is about allegiance to the United States)
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To: Wpin

Assets are what counts.


32 posted on 03/08/2016 12:16:58 PM PST by Lopeover (2016 Election is about allegiance to the United States)
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To: GIdget2004
The income qualification didn't start until 2011.

"Basic STAR: Beginning July 1, 2011, the total combined household income must be $500,000 or less. Previously, there was no income limit."

He probably got the exemption years ago and the assessor's dept just never caught up with him to submit a tax return to show income.

And I doubt he knew about it or noticed either.

Simple bureaucratic error IMO.

33 posted on 03/08/2016 12:17:01 PM PST by RubyR
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To: All

Go take a look at last months Forbes magazine. They show all of his holdings, including mortgages. Trump is richer than shiite : )


34 posted on 03/08/2016 12:17:21 PM PST by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) since Nov 2014 (GOPe is that easy to read))
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To: The_Republic_Of_Maine

Company probably owns it.


35 posted on 03/08/2016 12:18:45 PM PST by Lopeover (2016 Election is about allegiance to the United States)
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To: Lopeover

http://www.trump.com/real-estate-portfolio/
http://www.trump.com/hotel-collection/
http://www.trump.com/golf/


36 posted on 03/08/2016 12:18:46 PM PST by dynoman (Objectivity is the essence of intelligence. - Marilyn vos Savant)
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To: Solson
“If Trump's annual income is less than $500k then kudos to him! It means he must have a crap-ton of income shelters set up to protect himself against taxes. This should be APPLAUDED.”

And don't forget - Trump hates the current system. That's why he is running for president. He is committed to changing the system. Trump really wants to change the system he has been using so that he can pay more in taxes. Count on it.

That's what the man says.

37 posted on 03/08/2016 12:20:18 PM PST by jeffersondem
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To: RubyR

Possible.

I guess in the many many audits.. (we still do now know for sure how many ) this was never found. Mable he only gets audited by the feds..


38 posted on 03/08/2016 12:20:35 PM PST by Bidimus1
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To: GIdget2004

Wow. People don’t get it.

Wealthy people put their assets in LLCs and NOT in their own name.


39 posted on 03/08/2016 12:21:42 PM PST by VitacoreVision
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To: RubyR

From the article:

“By the way, the city finance department checks with New York state tax authorities every year to make sure applicants for the STAR benefit have income under $500,000.”

Not a “simple bureaucratic error”.


40 posted on 03/08/2016 12:21:57 PM PST by GIdget2004
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