The New York Times released a copy of Donald Trump’s 1995 Income Tax return, in which he reported almost a $1 billion loss, and made the statement that he “may” have not paid in income taxes in almost 20 years.  The paper had to add the “may” into the statement to protect themselves from a lawsuit because the statement was not based on any evidence at all.

Nevertheless, it has unleashed a fire-storm over Trump’s responsibility for paying taxes in the United States, despite the fact that everyone, and I mean every single person who has looked at the return, admits that nothing Trump has done was illegal.  Trump’s accountants and tax lawyers used legal methods available in the Tax Code to reduce the amount of taxes he paid.

I personally do the same, without the assistance of a bevy of tax lawyers and accountants, unless you count the help section of my computer tax filing software.  I’m not sure exactly how many tax professionals are employed in preparing the software and keeping it updated.

Of course, Trump is in a somewhat higher tax bracket than I am.  In fact, the amount of money Trump has made is considered obscene by many, who wish they were as successful as he.  And some of the greatest outrage is coming from other politicians, who use the same tactics as Trump, to avoid paying the same taxes.

But a lot of the general population, including myself, are not as concerned with the issue, partially because we assume that most of the country’s elites pay little to no taxes, and partially because we don’t believe that the loopholes and shelters that allow for such a thing to happen will ever go away.

The second belief is driven because the politicians that can control the nation’s taxation system are usually the same elites that benefit from the complicated mess that we call the Tax Code.  At least that is the perception of the general public.