OPINION:
After releasing her tax returns and saying that she and her husband had paid a 30-percent tax rate, Hillary Clinton tweeted, “Here’s a pretty incredible fact: There is a nonzero chance that Donald Trump isn’t paying *any* taxes.”
If this is indeed true, and Mr. Trump isn’t facing any hostile action except his usual annual audit from the Obama IRS, than the man is a true genius. What better way to illustrate how his economic brain functions than by legally getting away with paying any hard-earned income to a reckless government that’s notorious for squandering our tax dollars?
During his Republican nomination speech, Mr. Trump said, “Face it folks, no one knows the system better than me.” And if he does know how to work the system to his benefit of paying no taxes, who better than him to fix that systen and make it more equitable? If he is holding back from releasing his tax returns because he’s paying little or no taxes and is being advised that it would be a political mistake to release them, I view this as a grave tactical error. Not paying taxes or paying as little as possible in taxes is one of the ultimate measurements of a business leader’s acumen.
Ironically, it’s Mr. Trump who has pledged to streamline the tax code, which would end all the loopholes that he most likely uses to dramatically slash his corporate and personal tax bill. In effect, he would be giving himself a tax hike. It is under the current Obama tax system that Hillary Clinton implies he’s been able to cheat. Someone needs to ask her, “Who in their right mind wants to pay more taxes to a wasteful government?”
EUGENE R. DUNN
Medford, N.Y.
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