On Saturday night, the New York Times dropped a revealing report about Donald Trump’s 1995 taxes. Although the documents were limited, the pages suggested not only that he suffered a $916 million loss in 1995, but also avoided paying taxes for 18 subsequent years. This was a perfectly legal maneuver but casts plenty of doubt upon Trump’s business prowess, which is a massive part of his own self worth and appeal as the GOP nominee.
Naturally, Mark Cuban has opinions on everything to do with the man he hopes never becomes president. He phoned into CNN, and speaking as one legit billionaire to a self-proclaimed other billionaire, Cuban called on Trump to “own” and explain the business loss itself, which he thinks is nothing to be embarrassed about. As Cuban says, folks have losses all the time, and what’s really important is having one big success to put a rich dude on the map for all of eternity. Although, Cuban does harbor doubts about whether Trump could rightfully claim a $916 million worth in the first place.
Cuban then gets a little dirtier on the prospect of not paying taxes. He doesn’t say Trump should have paid more taxes than IRS code requires, but he suggests it was unpatriotic for Trump take those loopholes. Cuban claims that he often sees the same opportunities to do so and chooses not to use them. He doesn’t outright slam Trump here (other than scoffing at the notion of being “smart” by not paying taxes), but he does make a damning assessment:
“Aside from military service, the most patriotic thing you can do as a wealthy person is pay your taxes. Because that keeps the roads paved, the military paid, and kids going to school. And he obviously doesn’t understand that.”
Well, we already know the truth of Trump’s multiple draft deferments, so he definitely didn’t serve in the military. And if Trump avoided paying taxes too, then it’s a legal look, but it’s not the best look for a business mogul who wants to run the country.
