How much of that $915m business loss Trump claimed did he actually absorb?

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Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm 18m18 minutes ago
1: I'm curious whether there may not be a much bigger story here which is the real reason for not releasing the returns. Trump was almost...

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm
2: ruined by his business failures in Atlantic City. But we know from reporting at the time that he survived by finding ways for others...

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm
3: to absorb a lot of the losses. He scared banks into thinking they'd be worse off if he was out of the picture and got them to take ...

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm
4: major haircuts. He put individual businesses through bankruptcy. How much of the losses did he absorb in real terms? How much was ...

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm
5: forgiven? Specifically, did Trump take tax credit for losses that he found creative ways to keep in limbo and not truly absorb?

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm
6: Thats where you get into territory where big no nos can take place, or things that wld explain major on-going audits. In other words ...

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm
7: I'm not sure we've seen the stuff that's really behind Trumps refusal to release his returns no matter what.


Josh Barro @jbarro
There are 2 options: Trump is a bad businessman who really loses lots of money; or Trump uses fake, paper losses to avoid tax on real income

Josh Marshall ?@joshtpm 7m7 minutes ago
3rd option, cratered biz w huge losses, found way for others to absorb or parked losses, still used to duck taxes

[6chars]

1. 900m, not 900b. but give him time.

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2. derp

...trying to hurry and watch the Raven's game!

politics >< football

[Else You Are Mad]

3. I am going with all the options.

None of the three options are mutually exclusive. At first Trump was just an awful businessman (as shown by his daddy having to bail him out). Trump, through his initial loses, realized he could carry forward his loses after his first true loses, may have intentionally lost money in his casinos to carry a billion in loses forward. This is why the banks won't lend him money anymore, they know he will, on paper, lose money but, through shady practices, will end up pocketing the millions owed to the banks.

[Foggyhill]

4. He bankrupts the business in which he's marginally invested, and takes the whole loss as his

He pumps up asset values of things in which others invested, kills them and uses the losses to cover
some other cash generating businesses' profits.

Remember how people were marvelled at how his casino venture seemed structured to fail,
well maybe they were.

He creates a shield of losses created by others.

So, he stiffs tax payers, investors, contractors, etc. Seemingly he stiffs everyone.

[Else You Are Mad]

5. The only person he hasn't been able to stiff...

Has been his daughter. But not for want of trying.

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6. »

[Generic Brad]

7. Don't forget the huge $3 settlement he got for destroying the USFL

if you dip back into the 1980's you can also look at that as another colossal business screw up. He killed an entire football league with his simple minded overreach. I have no doubt that when his franchise folded that he used that loss to avoid paying taxes back then too.

I'm just saying.