> I find it unbelievable that Trump or his accountants and lawyers would commit tax fraud. <
I don’t know anything about this particular case. But the tax code is so complicated and arbitrary that I suppose an auditor could find fault with any return.
I recall reading about a test some guy did a number of years ago. He sent a business’s tax documents to five different professional tax preparers. He got back five different suggested returns, ranging from the business owing a lot of money to the business getting a big refund.
If you have a few mil, just try to NOT commit “tax fraud”. A billion, it’s a given.
One is reminded of the classic Dr. Ferris quote from Atlas Shrugged:
Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men.
The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.