Say, Donald, How'd you do that? Really...

[MineralMan]

I looked at my checking account online this morning, like I do every morning. The IRS just cashed the check I sent them last week. Like lots of other self-employed people, I usually end up filing for an extension every year in April, and get around to filing in October. Why? Because I always owe money on my taxes. Money's always tight in my house. There never seems to be enough of it.

This year was no different, so I wrote a four-figure check last week and dropped it in the mail with my 1040 and all those supporting documents. It hurt to do that, as always, but I'm a taxpayer and I pay up every year.

So, you're not a taxpayer, even though you live in a penthouse mansion, while I live in a 1950s rambler in the Midwest? You always seem to have piles of money to spend, but you don't have to pay any taxes to the IRS? How do you do that? I could have used the money I sent off last week for something else, but a guy's gotta pay his taxes.

Tell us how you do that, please. You spend millions every year, but never send any checks to the IRS. Is there some trick? It must be nice to be filthy rich and not owe anything to the IRS...

[lillypaddle]

1. Yeah, it's pretty damn maddening

and not to mention unfair.

[MineralMan]

2. I imagine there are lots of working people asking similar questions today.

We pay our taxes. We have no other option. We don't like it much, but we pay them. How does Trump not have to pay? I think he needs to answer for that.

[Maeve]

3. Just sent a check in for estimated taxes a couple of weeks ago

Becasue I'd pay a fine next April if I underestimated my share...must be in the wrong business. But then, I actually WORK for my money and I hear the only way to be rich is to have your MONEY work for you.

[MineralMan]

4. Yeah, work. It's what we do.

What is the work that Trump does, exactly? How does he earn his money?

I don't think I want him to get a paycheck from the U.S. Treasury. I'm voting for Hillary.

[Maeve]

6. How he earns his money? As noted, his money earns money

Most of his income seems to have been investment/interest. He does make an income running his mouth....which, as a storyteller, I can't fault, except I tell people what's real and what just entertainment. But then, I'm honest.
And come Oct. 12 (first day Ohioans can vote absentee), I'm voting Hillary as well.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

5. Looks like you are not smart like the Donald!

Only the "little people" pay taxes

[MineralMan]

8. I guess not. Oh, well...

I'd rather none of my taxes, though, went to a paycheck for The Donald™. He seems to have plenty, already.

[rbrnmw]

16. that is so gaudy and tacky looking

it seems cold not like a home

[Brother Buzz]

23. With all his swag, you'd think he could afford a higher celing

Status, Class, or Tacky, The Donald hasn't a clue.

[WiffenPoof]

26. Did you notice that...

...the toy cars on the carpet are limos?. Conditioning them early.

[FailureToCommunicate]

31. For a moment I thought that might have been a real stuffed lion his son is on...

[Laf.La.Dem.]

36. too funny

I had to go back and check the picture

[catbyte]

32. At least that's a toy lion that kid is straddling, and not a dead real one like Uday & Qusay so

enjoy posing with. But, the kid is still young. Ugh. Tacky, tacky, tacky. Can you imagine what they'd do to the White House? Dreckitude.

[redwitch]

34. He is the only one smiling in the photo.

The other two are mere props. Pretty awful life they must have with him, designer fashions and toy stretch limos only go so far.

[mnhtnbb]

7. We send in quarterly estimates, too.

What really ticked me off this year was how much of our social security was subjected to taxes. My husband is 73 and I'm 65 and we're both collecting SS.
I do our taxes. In 2015 we saw a much higher % of our SS subject to taxation. We help our youngest son with living expenses (he's in grad school on financial aid)
so he won't have to take loans. But we don't get to deduct $.01 of what we help him with, because he doesn't live with us (not possible since his grad school is in another state) and his income from work/study exceeds the threshold for allowing someone to claim him as a dependent. You know what that threshold is? $6300. Who can live on $6300?

[MineralMan]

9. Yeah. I paid a little on my SS, too.

I don't worry about any of that, though. Paying taxes is our responsibility. I can see how government spending benefits me. I'm 71 years old and still working. No choice, really.

[mnhtnbb]

10. My husband is 73 and still working part-time.

My point is that we're trying to help our son so that he won't have to deal with student loans when he's finished with school. We get ZERO deduction for that.

The people with big $ have the pull to write the tax laws to their benefit. Mitt Romney could deduct $75,000. for a horse as 'therapy' for his wife.

Billionaires like Trump can lose almost a billion and extend the write-off for that for almost 20 years.

Little guys like us pay taxes on our measly Social Security and he skates.

My point is that the billionaires need to pay something, too.

[MineralMan]

12. Social Security recalculates benefits every year.

Each year, I get one payment that's a little larger, based on those recalculations. That will probably cover the little tax I paid on my SS this year. It's pretty much a wash. Any year where I have to pay taxes on my SS was a decent year, income wise, so I can't really complain, I guess. I still pay the Self-Employment taxes every year, too, since I'm still self-employed. It's a sort of odd system, but that's OK. The fourth Wednesday of every month, my SS payment shows up in the bank.

[Madam45for2923]

11. Start by getting in close to a Billion Debt/Loss and then get a Foundation/piggy bank going

Try not to pay people & businesses that do business with you.

Get huge loans at banks and then get them to help you because they're afraid of you declaring bankruptcy.

Move parts of your business overseas and take advantage of low wages including minors.

If people sue you get your Mafioso tough guys to visit their lawyers with info on the lawyers: technique aka blackmailing.

Sell your last name to people that think of you as "classy" so they can open businesses with your name

Open fake University and find the most vulnerable to suck all their savings/credit.

LIE, exaggerate, over-promise

[MineralMan]

13. I couldn't do any of those things, though.

My ethics and principles would prevent that. I guess having ethics is a costly thing....who knew?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Any chance tRump wins voters with Taxpayer-Shaming or Body-Shaming or Working_Marriage-Shaming?

Nah.

[MineralMan]

15. I can't see how any of those things helps him, either.

I hope he keeps right on pissing off groups of people. Whatever works...

[neeksgeek]

17. I'm in the same boat.

I'm not self-employed, I'm an adjunct at a community college. We basically make our month-to-month bills on my wife's salary. I've adjusted my withholding each year, but I usually end up paying in installments from April through October.

It sure would be nice to have that $400 I paid this month back! My car needs a new alternator, but I have no problem leaving it parked, and riding the bus to work for the next couple weeks until payday.

Don't forget, "taxes are for the little people."

[rbrnmw]

18. We pay our taxes every year and we eat on the cheap and do without

to pay them, but pay them we do, it is our duty as Americans and it's the law. There are little to no loopholes for small business owners.

[MineralMan]

19. Yup. Trump pays nothing.

Something wrong there. Way wrong. The Clintons pay their taxes. We've seen their returns.

[rbrnmw]

21. Only scum sucking bottom feeders refuse to pay their taxes

the top 1% are the bottom feeders, then they like to turn it around and blame the poor

[Fla Dem]

20. Hey Donald,

What Is Critical Infrastructure?
The nation's critical infrastructure provides the essential services that underpin American society and serve as the backbone of our nation's economy, security, and health. We know it as the power we use in our homes, the water we drink, the transportation that moves us, the stores we shop in, and the communication systems we rely on to stay in touch with friends and family.

https://www.dhs.gov/what-critical-infrastructure

Seems to me you're taking advantage of a lot of services you're not helping to pay for.

And let's not forget a lot of those taxes go toward funding the military.

Just what would we be squandering your tax payments on if you actually paid them?

[Binkie The Clown]

22. Clearly you're not smart enough to lose a billion dollars like Trump did.

[shadowmayor]

24. Leona Helmsley said it

Rich people don't pay taxes - only little people pay taxes.

Kinda surprised that folks are shocked about a crooked rich dude not paying his taxes. I thought it was a given?

[madamesilverspurs]

25. Don't recall who said it

but there's an adage that goes something like "When the rich lose money, it's all on paper. When you and I lose money, it's all in cash."


.

[pinboy3niner]

27. To add insult to injury, he pays no taxes--then complains about the national debt

What's wrong with this picture?

[pansypoo53219]

28. he eats fast food cause its CHEAP.

[Jopin Klobe]

29. " ... but a guy's gotta pay his taxes." ...

... true ...

... but, it's obvious that pigs do not ...

[UCmeNdc]

30. Has his own plane but does not pay one penny in income tax.

Wow!

[Rex]

33. It's called tax evasion.

Who could have guessed his downfall would be a presidential run for the WH?

[unitedwethrive]

35. At the very least, I would expect someone who profited so much from this country to

be a responsible citizen and contribute large amounts to charity, or find other major ways to give (like Gates, Warren, and Zuckerberg). But since he won't release his taxes, we'll never know.

[relayerbob]

37. It all starts

with a tiny little $14 million loan from daddy.

Oh, and throwing all sense of scruples and ethics out the window.

Genius!