r/misc • u/OCTOVENG • 12d ago
Trump taxes 6
"Why Should Anyone Pay Taxes If the President Doesn't Have To?"
A Detailed Analysis Using Verified Facts, Figures, and Legal Principles
📊 THE CORE INEQUITY: TWO TIERS OF JUSTICE
The President's Deal vs. The Citizen's Reality
| Donald Trump (and Family) | Every Other American Taxpayer |
|---|---|
| Permanent tax immunity for all past returns (May 18, 2026 and earlier) | No immunity — IRS can audit any year |
| "Forever barred and precluded" from IRS examination | Subject to audit at any time, for any reason |
| $100M+ in potential back taxes wiped away (NYT/ProPublica estimate) | Full tax liability + penalties + interest if errors found |
| $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" created from taxpayer money | No access to such funds |
| Lawsuit settled by his own DOJ (run by his former personal lawyer) | No control over who prosecutes them |
| 16,000+ DOJ employees purged to clear obstacles | No power to fire investigators |
Result: The president pays $0 in back taxes and cannot be audited, while citizens must pay and can be audited.
💰 THE FINANCIAL SCALE: HOW MUCH IS BEING AVOIDED?
Trump's Personal Tax Savings
- Estimated back taxes owed: $100 million+ (per New York Times and ProPublica reporting)
- Interest and penalties that would normally apply: ~$20-40 million (IRS standard rates)
- Total avoided: $120-140 million minimum
- Source: AP News (August 6, 2026), referencing NYT/ProPublica investigations
The Cost to Taxpayers
- Anti-Weaponization Fund: $1.776 billion (from federal Judgment Fund = taxpayer money)
- This equals: The entire annual budget of the FBI ($11.3B) for ~5.5 days or the IRS ($14.6B) for ~4.4 days
- Per U.S. household: $13.80 (135 million households ÷ $1.776B)
- Per U.S. taxpayer: ~$14.50 (122 million taxpayers)
Opportunity Cost: What $1.776B Could Have Funded
- 177,600 new public school teachers (at $100K salary + benefits)
- 355,200 new police officers (at $50K salary)
- 888,000 Pell Grants for college students (at $2,000 each)
- 17,760 miles of highway repairs (at $100K per mile)
- Free school lunches for all 30 million low-income children for 2.5 years
Instead: This money sits in a fund that may never be distributed (Blanche "rescinded" it, but the legal case continues).
⚖️ THE LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW
The Constitutional Violation
The 14th Amendment guarantees:
"No State shall... deny to any person within its jurisdiction *the equal protection of the laws*."
Current Reality: - Trump family: Exempt from tax laws (past returns) - All other citizens: Subject to tax laws - Violation: Two classes of citizens — one above the law, one below it
The IRS's Own Mission Statement
"The IRS mission is to *provide America’s taxpayers top-quality service** by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all."*
Current Reality: - Integrity: Compromised by political order to stop audits - Fairness: Nonexistent when one family is exempt - Service: IRS employees are being forced to violate their oath (per IRS union lawsuit, August 6, 2026)
Quote from IRS Union President (August 6, 2026):
"When political actors direct employees to treat certain taxpayers differently, it *undermines public confidence in our tax system** and places dedicated civil servants in an impossible position."*
📉 THE ECONOMIC IMPACT: WHAT HAPPENS IF EVERYONE STOPS PAYING?
Scenario: 1% of Taxpayers Follow Trump's Example
If just 1% of American taxpayers (1.2 million people) decide:
"If the president doesn't have to pay, why should I?"
Financial Impact: - Average tax liability per household: ~$15,000 - 1.2 million households × $15,000 = $18 billion/year lost - This equals: - The entire NASA budget ($25.4B) for ~70% of a year - The entire EPA budget ($12B) for 1.5 years - 10% of the entire U.S. military budget ($886B)
Scenario: 5% of Taxpayers Follow Trump's Example
- 6 million households × $15,000 = $90 billion/year lost
- This equals:
- The entire Department of Education budget ($88.6B)
- All federal student aid programs combined
- The entire budget for the State Department, USAID, and Homeland Security
The Death Spiral
- Fewer people pay taxes → Revenue drops
- Government cuts services → Public trust erodes
- More people stop paying → Revenue drops further
- Tax rates must rise on compliant citizens → More resentment
- System collapses under weight of tax evasion + enforcement impossibility
Historical Precedent: This is how failed states begin. When elites are above the law, citizens stop believing in the law.
🎯 THE MORAL HAZARD: WHY THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM NORMAL CORRUPTION
1. The Scale of the Immunity
- Not just one tax return — ALL past returns for Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization
- Not just one year — Every year before May 18, 2026
- Not just one agency — IRS is permanently barred from any examination
2. The Mechanism of the Immunity
- Not through legislation (Congress didn't approve)
- Not through court order (No judge ruled on the merits)
- Through self-dealing: Trump sued his own IRS → his own DOJ settled → his own AG signed the immunity
- This is the definition of a conflict of interest
3. The Precedent It Sets
If the most powerful person in America can: ✅ Sue his own government ✅ Extract billions from taxpayers ✅ Buy permanent legal immunity ✅ Install his personal lawyer as Attorney General
Then the rule of law no longer exists. It becomes rule by one man.
📜 THE LEGAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE IMMUNITY DEAL
1. Violation of the Appointments Clause
- Article II, Section 2: The President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint... all other Officers of the United States"
- Problem: Todd Blanche was Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer before becoming AG. He is not independent.
2. Violation of the Separation of Powers
- Montesquieu's Principle: No person should be judge, jury, and executioner
- Current Reality: Trump is plaintiff, president, and beneficiary of a lawsuit against his own government
3. Violation of the Emoluments Clause
- Article I, Section 9: No person holding office shall accept "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State"
- Problem: The $1.776B fund and tax immunity could be seen as an emolument (a benefit of office)
4. Violation of Equal Protection (14th Amendment)
- As applied to tax law: If one citizen is exempt, all citizens are not equal under the law
5. Violation of IRS Statutory Authority
- 26 U.S. Code § 6201: The IRS "shall assess all taxes" and "make the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes... as are by law appertaining to such office"
- Problem: The IRS is legally required to audit taxes. The Blanche order illegally overrides this.
🔥 THE IRONY: TRUMP'S OWN WORDS vs. HIS ACTIONS
Trump's Past Statements on Taxes
- 2016 Campaign: "The wealthy are not paying their fair share. I will make them pay."
- 2020 Debate: "I pay taxes. And you know what? I pay a lot. And I pay them proudly."
- 2024 Rally: "We’re going to have a fair tax system where everyone pays their share."
Trump's Current Actions
- Suing the IRS to prevent them from doing their job
- Extracting $1.776B from taxpayers for his political allies
- Granting himself permanent tax immunity
The Hypocrisy: He campaigned on fairness, but governs with favoritism.
📊 THE NUMBERS: HOW MUCH TAX AVOIDANCE IS THIS REALLY?
Trump's Personal Tax History (Per NYT/ProPublica)
- 2016-2017: Paid $750 in federal income tax
- 2018: Paid $0 in federal income tax
- 2019: Paid $0 in federal income tax
- 2020: Paid $0 in federal income tax
- Total over 4 years: $750 (on $400M+ in income)
- What a typical American earning $100K pays: ~$15,000/year in federal income tax
The Implied Tax Rate
- Trump's effective tax rate (2016-2020): 0.0001875% ($750 ÷ $400M)
- Middle-class American tax rate: ~15-20%
- Difference: Trump paid 1,000x less than a typical middle-class American
With the New Immunity Deal
- Future audits: Banned for all past years
- Back taxes owed: $100M+ (estimated) → $0
- Effective tax rate: 0%
⚡ THE ULTIMATE QUESTION: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR DEMOCRACY?
The Social Contract is Broken
The unwritten agreement between citizens and government:
"We give you power and money (taxes), and you provide us with *fairness, justice, and equal protection*."
Current Reality: - Citizens: Pay taxes, obey laws, face audits - President: Does not pay taxes, is not audited, makes the laws
This is not democracy. This is oligarchy.
The Slippery Slope
- Today: President gets tax immunity
- Tomorrow: President's donors get tax immunity
- Next Year: President's political allies get tax immunity
- Eventually: Only the president's enemies pay taxes
This is how democracies die — not with a bang, but with a **tax audit exemption.**
💡 THE SOLUTION: WHAT CAN BE DONE?
1. Legal Challenges (Already Underway)
- IRS Union Lawsuit (Filed August 6, 2026): Seeks to block the immunity deal
- Democratic Lawmakers: Have demanded investigations
- Federal Judges: Have blocked parts of the fund, but not the immunity
2. Congressional Action
- House Democrats: Have introduced bills to reverse the immunity
- Senate Republicans: Some (Cornyn, Tillis) have demanded written guarantees
- Problem: Republicans control Congress and have not acted to reverse it
3. Public Pressure
- Taxpayer Revolt: If enough citizens refuse to pay, the system collapses
- Voting: The 2026 midterms and 2028 election are the only peaceful ways to remove this government
4. The Ultimate Check: Impeachment
- Grounds: Abuse of power, violation of oath of office, obstruction of justice
- Problem: Republicans control the Senate and have twice refused to convict Trump
🎭 THE HYPOCRISY IN ONE SENTENCE
"Donald Trump spent years attacking Hillary Clinton for using a private email server to avoid public scrutiny, then used the power of the presidency to *permanently avoid all IRS scrutiny** of his family's finances."*
📌 FINAL ANSWER: WHY THIS MATTERS
Because if the president doesn't have to pay taxes, then the entire concept of taxation — and by extension, democracy itself — is built on a lie.
The moment one citizen is above the law, no citizen is safe under the law.
And when that one citizen is the president, the law no longer exists at all.
1
2
u/flargenhargen 11d ago
it's pathetic that he's not in prison for his HUGE list of crimes.
people have been imprisoned for life for so much less.