You’ve likely heard by now that over the weekend the New York Times dropped a bombshell story about the Trump Organization’s tax records, which appear to be rife with fraud.
There’s a lot in the report. Like how Trump didn’t pay any taxes in 10 of the last 15 years. Or how spent $70,000 on his bad ’80s combover then wrote it off as a business expense.
Also in the report is something that may mean trouble for none other than Ivanka Trump.
Ivanka is not protected by the presidency. She will likely be one of the first to be criminally prosecuted thanks to her daddy.
Report: Financial records appear to show Ivanka Trump got 'consulting fees' to reduce father's tax bill https://t.co/fFCBb1Xjrr
— Mr. Spock ? (Commentary) (@SpockResists) September 28, 2020
According to the Times, Trump Organization tax records show that between 2010 and 2018, the company wrote off $26 million in “consulting fees.” Of that $26 million, almost $750,000 appear to have gone directly into Ivanka’s pockets.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Reports show that the Trump Organization paid $747,622 to some random consulting company Ivanka owns, then it turned around and wrote that exact same amount off as a tax deduction for hotel projects in Hawaii and Vancouver.
Kindy shady, right?
But it gets shadier.
Because those same hotel projects in Hawaii and Vancouver were also being managed by Ivanka, as part of her responsibilities as executive officer with the Trump Organization, for which she drew an annual salary of approximately $480,000.
In other words, it appears Ivanka hired herself as a consultant on a project for her dad’s company that she was already being paid to oversee, which could end up being a biiiiig problem for the Trumps, since it’s against the law for business owners to write off huge fees to “independent contractors” who aren’t really independent contractors.
– @IvankaTrump was a full-time employee of the family biz
-Yet, @realDonaldTrump paid her $747,622 in consulting fees on three hotel deals
-He wrote off these consulting fees as “biz expenses”
Arguing he paid so little bc he knows how to optimize the system is not supported here— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) September 28, 2020
Speaking to Insider, Michael Dambra, associate professor of accounting and law at the University at Buffalo School of Management, says this is a textbook tax avoidance scheme.
“I would say for family companies, it’s a typical tax avoidance strategy,” he explains.
Dambra adds that the Trump Organization will likely have to prove that the $750,000 in consulting fees it paid to Ivanka really was a valid business expense and that her rate, which was almost $275,000 more than her annual salary, was reasonable.
Dambra also calls Ivanka’s enormous consulting fee “a little unusual,” but “it’s possible that Ivanka Trump has a fantastic consulting business and so they were the best company for the job.”
Given her track record with every other business she and her family has ever owned, we doubt that.
Ivanka Trump checking Twitter tonight pic.twitter.com/OPgiTHv103
— Mike Tague (@rhymeswithbeg) September 28, 2020
Related: Everyone’s creeped out by Ivanka’s tweet about going to the Midwest to buy cheap crap made in China
Liquid Silver
It’s nice that we think so, but Daddy’s spent four years digging up the dirt. At this point, every politician–including Nancy Pelosi–will use every bit of their power to protect the Trumps or watch every dirty secret hit the fan. And every politician, including Nancy, has ten tons of dirty laundry they don’t want you to know about.
Hence that joke of an “Impeachment Hearing” that focused on nothing much that most people didn’t care about, with nothing much in terms of testimony and nothing much happening ever.
None of the Trump clan will do a second in jail at the Federal or State level for that reason unless it’s a show to get out of doing far, far more time before the pardon, magic judicial ruling, etc. comes in and saves them.
Cam
Translation: Trump troll account tries to deflect from money laundering and criminal tax fraud committed by the Trump family by making baseless claims about others.
I don’t know why you trolls even bother to try anymore. You’re all so bad at this.
Liquid Silver
Translation: Cam has no rejoinder but can throw an insult while playing with himself and pretending he matters.
Cam’s Rejoinder: You said that the last 94 times!
Sorry, I’ve only been around a couple weeks, but keep it up because it’s obvious the shallowness and stupidity around here drives them off pretty fast. I’m sure anybody smarter than you, or most people, sound pretty much the same to somebody dumb as a trash panda.
jayceecook
@Liquid Silver As much as I love seeing somebody else bash Lil CamCam for once, saying he’s as “dumb as a trash panda” doesn’t add up. Trash pandas or raccoons, as most people call them, are highly intelligent and extremely adaptable. And studies show their intelligence is growing. Just research how they did with the Aesop’s Fable experiment.
You should have just went with a regular panda. Or a kakapo.
LumpyPillows
@Liquid Silver This is the typical troll approach of, when caught, saying the other guys do it too. Well, no, I do not believe for a second Nancy Pelosi cheats on her taxes. Still, would not matter, the Trumps are bold-faced criminals and no decent person should be supporting or defending them now that we know what we know. As far as @cam, he’s so full of himself its painful, but he is right this time.
Cam
@Liquid Silver
In other words, you can’t dispute my comment, so tantrum and name call.
Look, I get it ,you are a Trump troll and got called out, I wouldn’t expect anything different.
The fact is, Ivanka and her father committed criminal tax fraud. Nothing you can do to deflect from that.
Cam
@jayceecook
And the Trump troll account switches screenames to try to keep deflecting the topic off of Trump committing Criminal tax fraud with his daughter. You’re REALLY bad at this.
Liquid Silver
@PumpyRillos: I didn’t say that, but it’s much easier to defeat a strawman than what I actually did say, so you go, girl. That’s the actions of somebody who can…well, can’t read very well, actually. I don’t advise trying that around me, you’ll get called on it.
I merely said, “Dirt,” or why Nancy can’t prosecute on something she coulda gotten to stick–like the Emoluments Clause as opposed to some esoteric call half of (Trump’s) America couldn’t understand and most people didn’t care about.
The Queen of Kabuki Theater isn’t my favorite person, obviously, since she shows her politician’s hand very obviously and is, also, very obviously pretty cheap to purchase.
Neither is Cam, who can’t stop screaming “bigot!” long enough to realize he is one and isn’t smart enough to notice nobody really cares much beyond occasionally poking at him to watch him dance like a cheap minstrel.
mailliw110
Well that’s interesting. So you think Trump is now blackmailing anyone who doesn’t support him?
barryaksarben
lol you are pathetic. There is NO way in hell Nancy pelosi wouldnt love to burn trump and his demon seed to the ground. You are so bad at deflection you should turn in your “hidden gop card” You are fooling no one here. troll. We arent the typical brain damaged trump supporter so dont bother with this weak tea. You cant just tell us an outrageous lie a few times and we believe it. Again we arent inbred trash
Mister P
The level of corruption of this idiot and his family has no equals. The impeachment hearings were not a joke.
I know right wing trolls love to deflect and blame elsewhere. No one could possibly be worried about what that dumb ass claims to have dug up
Mister P
If you will remember the senate didn’t allow testimony. That’s what you might have thought it was light on testimony.
There was a lot there. Apparently you weren’t though
Liquid Silver
If you have to turn to insults to “prove” your “point,” you don’t have a point. QED.
barryaksarben
NO , we dont have to insult you but we want to because you come to this sight with your lies. Grow a pair. Again, HE was successfully impeached. The gop led senate refused to remove him or even call a single witness
Mister P
Page one in orange dump’s playbook. Declare victory no matter what.
sk8sickstevo
I think the real question is if she paid taxes on that income. If she did then there’s not really an issue? Because it just means she paid the taxes on that amount rather than it counting against Trump’s carried losses.
MacAdvisor
Ivanka would have to pay taxes on the money however it was classified by her father’s company. However, unless it really was for consulting work at a legitimate rate, something very unlikely, the company can’t write off the the expense. Thus, the company should pay taxes on the money and so should Ivanka.
Jay002
What!! 70,000 on hair. Did he go on tour with Beyonce?
kevininbuffalo
I didn’t know dog groomers were that expensive.
Cam
The person interviewed said…
“Dambra adds that the Trump Organization will likely have to prove that the $750,000 in consulting fees it paid to Ivanka really was a valid business expense and that her rate, which was almost $275,000 more than her annual salary, was reasonable.”
——————————
This is where media tries too hard for “Balance”. No, it is illegal to hire yourself as a consultant. That is explicitly forbidden and there is no way that they can try to prove the amount is reasonable because the action itself is illegal.
Ivanka and Donald committed tax fraud.
sk8sickstevo
But what if Ivanka paid tax on that income? If he paid it to her as a fee and then she paid applicable income tax then there is no fraud.
pavel20
from my read @sk8sickstevo it looks like one of the big problems here is ivanka can’t be hired as an independent contractor because she is actually an employee of the company.
Cam
@sk8sickstevo
You can’t double dip like that. Ivanka can’t be a CEO or executive of a company, be on salary AND have that company hire her as a consultant to help her daddy launder cash.
Mack
I find it interesting that illegal workers paid more taxes than Donald. Lets deport Donald and keep the illegal workers.
AJAnders
Remember a couple years ago when Ivanka claimed that the best path to success means not having anything handed to you? It was completely tone deaf and laughable then but it’s even funnier now.
But it’s the only laugh I can get out of this knowing that nothing will come of it. Being a Trump means never having to face the consequences of your actions. So I doubt Ivanka or her criminal daddy are going to lose any sleep over this.
Liquid Silver
Exactly. And we can expect even more tone-deafness in the future.
Well, for the next few months. After that, I expect them to pull a collective George Bush, Jr. and mostly become very, very quiet. Dotard won’t, but the rest will shut up very, very tightly.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
As for his hotels losing money my deepest wish is her stealing it and he doesn’t know it.
Dijonaise
I will not be happy unless I see her children caged on a cold concrete floor with nothing but a thin silver emergency blanket, changing their own diapers. F$ck this duplicitous C$nt!
Troysky
zingy eyebrows don’t help.
Toofie
Tiffany’s breathing a sigh of relief she doesn’t work for the family company…
Heywood Jablowme
Tiffany now has a law degree. She may be a Mary Trump in the making, but a lawyer instead of a clinical psychiatrist!
balttymore
Every other week it’s something that we think “this is it” to get him in trouble….But nothing ever happens and it’s on to something else…At this point I don’t think anything will happen to any of them
MacAdvisor
Something will happen. Trump is going to lose and then be the first ex-President to be in both criminal and bankruptcy court at the same time.
Heywood Jablowme
Nothing happened to Roy Cohn for a long time… until suddenly it happened. Don the Con seems to have forgot that.
kevininbuffalo
I think New York State will get him even if the Feds don’t.
blackhook
It doesn’t matter, ‘Ivanka’ is not a real human. I’ve seen the wind-up screw in her back…
Heywood Jablowme
What does a $747,622 “hotel consultant” actually do? “Put the towel rack over there… put the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner over there… and put the desk right in front of that outlet so a person with a disability can never reach the outlet, screw them. Oh, and put 25 pillows and four comforters on the bed, even though it’s August.”
Ginger Tom
We have all seen this so many times before when what seems like an open and shut fraud or corruption case comes to nothing. There are at least two levels of justice in the US: one for the 1% and another one for the rest (I am not saying there are no sub-levels according to sexuality, gender or race). Debt or no debt they will protect their own. It is so sad but it is true. My prediction – she walks.
vinnieboiblue
Before you know it, she will be dressed in an orange jumpsuit complete with bars.
OhHellNo
I guess he’s finally getting to screw her.