The Boston Globe editorializes today that Trump’s large debt, much of it coming due in the next four years, could compromise his integrity and make him subject to foreign control. This is based on the undisclosed tax returns that were illegally leaked to the Times.
It used to be that Trump’s returns weren’t being released because ‘Russia had something on him,’ or that ‘he really wasn’t a Billionaire.’ But based on what I read in the Times’ first story, Trump has lots of valuable assets and the Times reported no illegal activity, just an aggressive use of deductions which the IRS is reviewing in Trump’s tax audit.
So it is time to pivot, and now the media is suggesting that Trump’s large debt is cause for major alarm and even disqualification to be president. Add this to the dozens of reasons the Boston Globe has for not supporting Donald Trump on November 3rd.
If one’s only asset is a house worth $100,000, and there is a mortgage on it for $60,000, we call that having $40,000 in equity. One’s “net worth” in this example would be $40,000. If the mortgage is due in a few years, the owner can sell the house or refinance. They would never default on the mortgage because they could lose their equity.
In real estate, this type of leverage is common. Mortgage interest is tax-deductible, and one can also claim “depreciation” on commercial properties, so that the properties can be improved and the expenses deducted. These improvements increase the value (or rental income) and those profits are eventually taxed. When the property is sold, the profits are then realized and the tax is paid with the proceeds.
Trump has dozens of expensive properties all around the world. If he needs cash, he can sell off a few of them to raise it. Worst-case scenario is if the property is worth less than the debt, he walks away under bankruptcy laws and the bank owns it.
I was drawn to this Globe editorial because the zeal of the Boston Globe to get President Trump knows no bounds. In a strange juxtaposition, the Globe asserts that Trump is a terrible businessperson who pays no taxes, but he also isn’t paying his “fair share.” Which is it?
While Trump’s chronic tax evasion shows many things — that he is not, in fact, a successful businessman, and that he is simply unwilling to pay his fair share to the federal government….
Every businessperson tries to minimize taxes, even rich Liberal ones. Trump acts like every successful person does by using legal deductions to avoid overpaying. If the Leftist media doesn’t like the tax loopholes, they should tell their Democratic allies in Congress to stop passing such legislation.
But President Trump can’t both be a terrible businessperson and be underpaying his taxes. The Boston Globe needs to at least have some logical consistency to its partisan attacks.
Does Boston Globe owner John Henry pay his “fair share?” Does he also practice tax avoidance? Perhaps Publisher Henry should release his returns and let the Far Left editorial writers on the payroll have at it.
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Allen Nitschelm is publisher of PublicEditorMA.com. He critiques the Boston Globe, mostly focusing on the bias in their news reporting. News articles are graded for bias, and the website has a listing of the average bias ratings for all reporters reviewed. See our website for more information and the four categories of articles we publish.
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