101–110 of 280 posts
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24602735
Now there is a story about Trump's taxes that is ok to discuss.
Genuine question: how is it determined what is ok to discuss on HN and what is political?
Great thread here that covers his loans https://twitter.com/DanAlexander21/status/131034616181606400... EDIT: I accidentally a 'that'
Edit: and also from the thread, he owes > $1 Billion in total to lenders.
It seems unethical to obtain private financial records and leak all this information. I’ve had journalists reach out to colleagues every now and then, looking for private and confidential information and this feels similar, where it isn’t whistleblowing but simply digging up information that no one has any right to. If this is OK, is everything okay? Would any disclosure of private information get a pass? Is doxxing…
That depends on the public interest. Are we talking about random John Does taxes which has a total of X dollars income/wealth? X alone might be large enough warranting some public interest, on top of that, it isn't random Joe, it is a well known public figure, which derives its publicity in the very facts the article is investigating: his claims of personal wealth and business acumen. Finally, that person is actually…
For comparison, President Trump payed $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017. I just looked it up and I, a graduate student who makes like $30k a year paid three times that amount last year.
Where is the Alternative Minimum Tax? You know, that tax law that pops up frequently for high earners in the tech field when they have more deductions than seems fair? Why isn't Trump subject to the same minimum taxation that I would be?
It seems unethical to obtain private financial records and leak all this information. I’ve had journalists reach out to colleagues every now and then, looking for private and confidential information and this feels similar, where it isn’t whistleblowing but simply digging up information that no one has any right to. If this is OK, is everything okay? Would any disclosure of private information get a pass? Is doxxing…
If it was some random guy pretending to be a billionaire, that would be one thing, but it seems totally reasonable for a paper to report on this.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Does that apply to the President? (At this point it seems clear that nothing applies to the president; let’s hope to god that someone makes a new amendment for that.)
The president (and other elected positions) are carved out of those kinds of requirements: requiring an elected official to "pass" a background test created by unelected public servants amounts to an unintended check on representative democracy. To be clear: we absolutely should require that elected officials disclose their finances. But we shouldn't require them to be vetted through a mostly unaccountable process af…
For comparison, President Trump payed $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017. I just looked it up and I, a graduate student who makes like $30k a year paid three times that amount last year.
Reminder; tax avoidance != tax fraud.
I honestly don't understand why “tax avoidance” is meant to sound so naughty. Almost everyone avoids taxes, almost every time they might be subject to a tax; some people are just better at it. When you fail to collect taxes from somebody who is following the law, that is a matter for your tax code, not a moral failing of the filer.
It also shows that Trump is not the fantastic businessman that he has portrayed as his public persona
Will it make a difference?