I suppose the difference is that on a self assessment form you make it look like you’re earning less so you pay less tax, Donald made it look like he had more money.
Trump was found guilty of business fraud by Judge Arthur Engoron, who also banned him from being a company director or borrowing money from banks in the state for three years.
That part of the punishment won’t bother Trump at all. He won’t need to borrow money for three years, his release date won’t be till 2036.
The judge said Mr Trump and his cronies had inflated the worth of their properties by hundreds of millions of dollars to secure favourable loans and tax breaks, while deflating them to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
This kind of thing is what business people probably do all the time but it’s either (I) you expect better from elected leaders or (ii) don’t get caught.
In a scathing 92-page ruling (which means Trump won’t read it), Judge Engoron said Mr Trump and his co-defendants, including his two adult sons Donald Jr and Eric, had shown "complete lack of contrition and remorse" and were likely to continue their "fraudulent ways" unless he imposed a "significant" penalty.
Mr Trump, who narrowly escaped having some of his companies dissolved, which could have led to bankruptcy, said he would appeal the ruling, calling it a "political witch hunt" by the "crooked" judge.
So they nailed that “lack of contrition and remorse” bit.
Speaking from his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, where he spends most of his time golfing and ranting on social media, Mr Trump said: "I'm the best president ever, and everyone knows it. I won the election by a landslide, but they stole it from me. They're all very bad people. Very bad."
That last bit might not be true but it’s a good guess.
Trump supporters say this will make him even more popular. They’re probably right, so I’m sure they’ll stop moaning about it. Maybe.
» Read the source story
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