Did you know that when a married couple files taxes jointly, both are just as responsible for any fraud within the tax returns, no matter who made the majority of the money, who was talking to the attorneys/accountants, or who made the decisions? Yes, of course, you did.
Did Melania know this? Did she know it in seven languages? Very tough to tell. Sometimes it’s tough to tell whether Melania is so smart she can manipulate Trump in a way no one else can, or she might be as stupid as she often sounds. This is the person who thought she could plagiarize Michelle Obama’s speech and not a single person in the country would notice. It’s hard to tell whether she knew that signing her name on her tax returns, above the language (English) that lying in any part was perjury and/or fraud and thus may have consequences.
Donald Trump is now facing real criminal exposure over what looks like garden variety tax fraud, and that means… Yes, he and Melania filed jointly. According to Benzinga:
Donald and Melania Trump paid just a total of $1,500 in income taxes for 2016 and 2017, according to a new report by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
What Happened: The report was posted online shortly after the House Ways and Means Committee voted to make public Trump’s full income tax returns, parts of which have been redacted. Also made public were the returns of eight related business entities, reported CNBC.
Past tax returns reveal that the former president and first lady declared negative income for 2015,2016, 2017, and 2020.
In 2020, Trump and Melania claimed a refund of $5.47 million and paid no income tax, according to the report. In 2019, they declared $2.97 million in taxable income and paid $133,445 in taxes.
What’s with the “Trump and Melania” thing? Melania is a Trump. (She’s a very good Trump, every bit as much on the con and the grift as Don.)
And that means that, with respect to any tax fraud found – and, again, this hasn’t been proven, but on its face, there is enough evidence that some think that some obvious fraud exists within the documents, and that makes Melania every bit as liable. The difference between a massive fine versus club Fed is how much was knowingly done, what they should have known (if they didn’t), how much was defrauded, and whether either of them can pay most of the money owed back. But Melania bears every bit as much liability as Trump, and that brings prison into play… for Melania, too.
Soooo, Trump is facing serious trouble because it seems that the entire Trump Organization’s business plan consisted of fraud, which extended to taxes. Melania isn’t on the hook for the Trump Organization’s crimes. But when it comes to personal tax liability and possible fraud, Melania should… get her own lawyer or a time machine. Fast.
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[email protected], @JasonMiciak, SUBSTACK
I bet Natasha wishes she never let that pig into her bed. She should have stuck with: “bring me moose & squirrel”!!!
Isn’t it fun to be stuck in one of bullwinkle’s fractured fairy tales? Where the hell is Mr. Peabody when you need him?
No worries Natasha. You can join a real harem in Saudia Arabia and cover your face so no one will see you. They have more real money than the liar you laid down with. And a bonus is you don’t have to be in the missionary position looking at a clown mask. Plus the IRS won’t get around to a prosecution until the year 2050 and you’ll be dust by then. Good times all around.
OH please. Trump hasn’t seen a jail cell in all this time, why would anyone think Melania ever would? I’ll believe that shit when I see it, probably from wherever I go when I shuffle off this mortal coil.
“Could face”
And, tax crimes, crimes on paper, are far easier to prove than most crimes, especially ones like seditious conspiracy or fraud on the United States. It’s why no one ever goes to trial on criminal tax cases. Far more easily proven, it’s either there on paper or not.
Will she ever go to prison? The question is what is she willing to give up (assuming there is tax fraud) to avoid prison. Would she agree to a settlement whereby she lives on a small amount while paying back the rest?
Please don’t “oh please” this one. There is a reason the tax battle was fought to the SCOTUS and back, and the State of New York has as much power as to state taxes as the IRS on federal ones, so they will face pressure from two prosecutors. And a lot of powerful people have gone to prison over tax fraud.
If you’re asking me will she actually go to prison, the chances are less than 50% but the Trump train is losing support and losing control of the evidence. The point is, she needs to get her own lawyer.
Oh, and hang on to this mortal coil as long as you can. I need good feedback from smart people.
Hey Old. U obviously need to check with the expert in Tennessee who has the secret information and the stone cold facts. He thinks we old folks don’t know much although we’ve seen this shit much longer than he’s been around. I’m with you. She has nothing to be concerned about. Now if she were black, poor, and ‘defrauded’ the IRS, hell she be sitting in county jail for a year awaiting trial while her kids would be scattered to the wind.
You do know that the IRS has an easier job of auditing poor folks (white ones as well as Black ones) because it doesn’t take the same level of skill to do the job. Poor folks rarely can file a dozen “schedules” to “adjust” their incomes and “find” deductions or “offset” their tax burden from one year to another so rank rookie auditors can easily process those returns.
The rich folks (Black ones as well as white ones) can work the system largely because the GOP made sure the IRS budgets got cut so they really couldn’t afford to take the necessary time to process audits of rich folks who were playing with schedules and finding deductions and offsetting their tax burdens–because, let’s face it, that kind of audit is far more time-consuming than going over a simple 1040A or 1040EZ.
But I’m sure since you’re one of those “old folks” who’ve “seen this shit much longer” really knows all this stuff and doesn’t need it explained.
Except, most of the time, it does seem that you DO need it explained.
Wrong. I understand & understood for a long time that the more money the more insulation one has from All aspects of the legal system. I’ve made that one clear over & over. Which is why I keep pointing out the system is rigged from the jump and will stay that way. Only the ignorant, inexperienced, or the brainwashed believe otherwise. It no more jives with the reality of our high ideals than those folks that believe the Bible fell out of God’s ass. Of course if the IRS ran on logic, they would be filled with experts at capturing money from the richest, which would generate the largest return each time they succeeded. They wouldn’t waste time on incomes below a certain level where’s there’s no money to get back. That would mean simplifying the system to eliminate tax shelters, off shore accounts, passing along gifts to family members etc. The percentage of the wealthy who are actually audited is very low. Of course why would they be? They made the rules for themselves. Same with insider trading etc. Burr & his inlaw can make millions doing it off information only a few have access to & they are still free, yet let YOU get caught at it and you’ll be writing from prison.
Well, you are factually wrong about that, comments are tough to link, cut/paste: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-are-the-odds-being-audited.html
The people making 0 annual gross income are likely to be audited bc that is often a lie. But after that, it is about the same. It gets vastly higher for people who make $500K or more, then much higher for those making $1,000,000, and then the highest for those making $10,000,000 or more (The same as those reporting zero bc so much fraud at zero (but easy to prove you made zero). The biggest difference is is that if you have over $10 million (8.9% get audited), you had your taxes done by professionals and can hire a tax attorney who can probably keep you out of jail with a settlement, which you can probably afford. If you are one of the .4% of the 75K income that get audited, you may no be able to hire the super tax lawyer and may be at offer/compromise phase fast, unless you made $1.5 million and reported $75K
I am a reformed lawyer – never disbarred or sanctioned- (always feel the need to say that) – and there are 3 areas of law no one practices unless its 100% specialty, Immigration, Intellectual Property, and Tax. A good tax attorney is essential and only the poorest get a public defender who has no idea what he’s talking about.
The system always favors the rich, true. But the percentage audited is highest for “0” and $10,000,000 and that makes some sense to me. It is 8.9% for both. It is .4% for a school teacher.
Give IRS people a stake in what they bring in.
remember, it was tax fraud that sent Capone to prison.
True, but like Trump he got away with murder.
Yes when that Officer died from the Capital riot!!! He was just as much to fault!!!!
I’ve been thinking that exact thought (about Al Capone) ALL DAY.
I toured Alcatraz some years ago- the tour points out the cell Capone occupied there.
They got him off the streets with the tax offenses and he died in a miserable prison.
That same result will work for me. If tfg is proven guilty & gets 10 yrs or longer, it’s almost certain he’ll never see the light of a free society again. I’ll take THAT- for him & everyone else found guilty of betraying their oath to defend Our Constitution.
That’s a fact, Jack!
How can you lose many millions of dollars for several years and just a couple years of
profiting in the 20’s of millions of dollars while claiming to be a billionaire? I want his accountant.
Your business is laundering money for others. You get to play with their assets like they are yours, and yet you most definitely know that they are yours in name only. The real owner is someone looking to park money in the west.
That’s how.
Well, one way to claim billionaire status without the assets to back up said claim is to fabricate a dollar amount for your brand. Trump seems to think, and thus far nobody has called him on it, his brand, Trump, is worth billions and people all over the planet want that fecal material plastered on their buildings. We have been seeing over the past several years though that people actually don’t want shit on the side of their buildings. Thing is though it is hard to put a price on such a thing so telling former guy he’s full of shit is not all that easy. Brand, like good will, etc. are those intangibles that do bring value to a business but it is a value that is hard to quantify.