Did Trump Engage in Tax Evasion via His Foundation?

New Washington Post Investigation Questions $2.3 Million in Donations

Did Donald Trump, knowingly or not, engage in tax evasion? The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold reports instead of paying Donald Trump directly, millions owed to him were directed to the Trump Foundation, a tax-exempt entity.

“Donald Trump’s charitable foundation has received approximately $2.3 million from companies that owed money to Trump or one of his businesses but were instructed to pay Trump’s tax-exempt foundation instead, according to people familiar with the transactions,” Fahrenthold reports.

In one instance, the Post reports, “a man in New York City who sells sought-after tickets and one-of-a-kind experiences to wealthy clients … was instructed to pay the Donald J. Trump Foundation instead.” The total of those payments: “nearly $1.9 million.”

Another reportedly was $400,000 from Comedy Central for a 2011 roast.

“In cases where he diverted his own income to his foundation, tax experts said, Trump would still likely be required to pay taxes on the income,” the Post reports. “Trump has refused to release his personal tax returns. His campaign said he paid income tax on one of the donations, but did not respond to questions about the others.”

Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall sums it up, writing that Fahrenthold “appears to have caught Trump in major tax evasion using his charity. Tax evasion on the back end, self-dealing on the front. That makes the whole entity look like a tax dodge.”

To be clear, this looks really bad. Tax and non-profit experts, which we are not, will no doubt weigh in over the next few days. It’s actually stunning it’s not making more headlines right now. It should be.

A few responses via Twitter:

 

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license