How Did Trump Qualify for a MIDDLE-CLASS Tax Cut?

[kpete]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160308/BLOGS02/160309865/how-did-trump-qualify-for-a-middle-class-tax-break

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.

City says Trump should not have received tax break but won’t explain how it happened

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.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/wait-what--8
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160308/BLOGS02/160309865/how-did-trump-qualify-for-a-middle-class-tax-break

[Gothmog]

1. Trump is lying about his net worth

[My Good Babushka]

2. I always have the wild idea that we ask our top 1% wealth-hoarders

what is the least amount a person like themselves could be expected to live on in a year. Then no taxes or revenues should be generated from any person with an income below that threshold.

[Maeve]

3. Or one of Robert Heinlein's ideas--

Estimate your own worth and get taxed on it. However, anyone who offers more than you say your house/car/other property is worth can buy it...

[Agnosticsherbet]

4. Trump's real income may go into his corporation or a trust and he pays himself a stipend,

perhaps.
All the perks, the corporate jet, the homes, the cars, could conceivably be expense account items.

The tax system is written to benefit people like Trump, who can expense tax attorney's to figure out how to not pay taxes.