Dem
51
GOP
49
You know, $100 million here, $100 million there... it starts to add up to serious money. In case his various legal judgments are not enough of a liability, there's additional bad news for Donald Trump on the financial front. This weekend, both The New York Times and ProPublica reported that an IRS investigation into Trump's Chicago tower is now complete, and that the former president could be on the hook for more than $100 million.
Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago is actually the last major construction project that Trump undertook before he shifted his focus to media and branding. It is also a 100-story, 1,388-foot-tall reminder that, outside of good luck with Trump Tower New York, he's not a very successful real estate developer. The project was deep, deep, deep in the red while under construction, such that Trump took a $651 million loss on his tax returns in 2008, before the building even opened. That amount made the building, in effect, a total loss ("worthless," to use the verbiage from the tax code). Then, in 2010, Trump transferred ownership of the building from one shell company he owns to a different shell company he owns. Thereafter, he took an additional $168 million in additional losses over the next decade. That's a no-no.
By all indications, this is not especially close to being over, since the relevant tax laws here are very abstruse, and since Trump and his businesses can mount a number of appeals, both with the IRS and within the court system. One can also imagine this going away entirely, should he be reelected in November. Still, whether or not this particular rooster comes home to roost, he really, really needs his DJT stock to end up being at least somewhat valuable, or he's going to be in financial trouble with all his other debts and judgments. (Z)