Tax evasion is illegal, tax avoidance is not

onald Trump is the only American president in modern times not to release his tax returns to the public despite the profound implications of such secrecy to the American taxpayer. Demands for full disclosure of his tax affairs reached full crescendo during the 2016 presidential campaign. But fully four years after he assumed the highest federal government office, those tax records remain in the immortal words of Winston Churchill "a riddle wrapped in a puzzle surrounded by an enigma."  No offense, but Churchill was actually describing the Soviet Union that time.

    Curiously, excerpts of those mystical tax records are now being spread out in full broadsheet by the New York Times.  To be pragmatic about it, if it's taking hordes of CPA's and lawyers years to make sense of any of it in a long-running audit that began more than ten years ago, what makes you think the ordinary person can grasp the full import of the exposé in one glimpse?

    Donald Trump is one of those traditional olde riche who made his fortune the old-fashioned way: by inheriting it. If you listen close to his fragmented pronouncements in the past, he doesn't so much say that he's a great businessman more than that he is a master of the art of making a deal.  There is a difference as subtle as the "b" in the word subtle. 

    He is a gambler, literally and metaphorically, but a great book author or phenomenal negotiator he is not. He throws those tasks to ghostwriters and lawyers. He just worries about looking and playing the part. His vaunted mastery in the Art of the Deal is an acquired taste. What he knows about making a deal anybody can learn in under three minutes listening to Kenny Rogers' lyrics of The Gambler, "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run...you never count your money when you're sitting at the table...there'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done."

    Fortunately, the most that any non-lawyer or non-accountant can make of the Trump tax returns is all really you need to now: that in 2016 and 2017 he paid all of just seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) in federal income taxes.  That's the full amount he paid, there are no separating commas to count or decimal points to locate in this 3-digit figure.  Worse than that, in ten of the last fifteen years before that, he paid zero. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.

    The "Lifeblood Doctrine" in Taxation Law holds that the State has the inherent power to enforce a proportional contribution from all citizens, in money or property,  to raise funds needed to  defray the costs of government.  In general, no one is exempt except three institutions: religious, educational and charitable. Now you understand why all rich persons, be they individuals or corporations, always have "social development promotion programs" tucked away somewhere in the backburners of their corporate philosophies. Trump's foundations--Lord knows how many there are--as anybody else's exist for only one purpose and that is to deflect tax liability. If you're spending money for religious, educational or charitable ends the State owes you reimbursement, which you can claim through tax write-offs. That is considered tax avoidance and it is perfectly legal. 

    This makes it hard for Trump explain the zero-tax scenario. If he hadn't paid one dollar, Lord forbid he can prove he spent two in reimbursable expenses--which is the crux of the tax audit. Because then he would end up collecting money from the State instead of contributing to it. That is tax evasion, which is illegal.

    Tax money pays for the upkeep of the vast US military complex--considered a Trump bailiwick by most accounts. It also pays for the salaries of policemen, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders, and most importantly teachers. From the take-home pay of these hardworking people, federal income taxes are automatically deducted up to an average of twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) per year per person. After the coronavirus pandemic struck the US hard in the guts, the federal government could barely cover the cost of the monthly $650 dollars of unemployment tide-over aid to millions of Americans who contributed to the very funds they are now being deprived of. I'm really curious to watch how Donald Trump can spin around that.   

    Also, there is preliminary evidence, at least, to suggest that Trump's overseas businesses have paid more taxes in countries like Russia--even the Philippines--than to Uncle Sam, which is an indefensible demonstration of his signature slogan "America First."  

    What is at stake in the coming November elections is whether the American voters would allow an expert tax avoider--if not, arguably, an astute tax evader--to hold charge over the national tax collection device. After all, if he can stuff the US Supreme Court with nominees sympathetic to his cause, what of the lowly Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whose career officials are constantly in the crosshairs of a sitting American president they are auditing. In the end, it may not require very sophisticated calculus for the average American voter--and taxpayer--to realize that keeping Donald Trump in charge of the federal coffers is not too different from assigning a goat to watch over the cabbage patch. 

NOTE FROM JOEL: Hi, folks! Recently, I started a YouTube channel which is called "Parables and Reason" It  is kind of similar to this blog content-wise. You can check out my channel by clicking the link below:

 Joel R. Dizon - PARABLES AND REASON