Frequent Trump tormentor and pro-Hillary troll Mark Cuban has some things to say about Donald Trump's taxes. First, like many super-rich liberals, he casts the act of paying taxes as a "patriotic" endeavor -- suggesting by extension that Trump is unpatriotic because of his alleged (and legal) tax avoidance:
Celebrity billionaire Mark Cuban is blasting Donald Trump, saying that paying taxes as a rich person is "patriotic" and calling on Trump to explain which tax breaks he relies on. "After military service, the most patriotic thing you can do as a wealthy person is pay your taxes. That keeps the roads paved, the military paid, and kids going to school, and he obviously doesn't understand that concept," Cuban told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day." ... "If Donald is taking tax shortcuts, maybe he bought an insurance policy as opposed to doing something in real estate and he took a huge tax write-off to offset income -- we don't know. And that's the inherent problem: there's no transparency and he is so ashamed of what he's done," Cuban said.
Here's Cuban's CNN scold-fest about tax transparency:
First of all, has Cuban and his business ventures ever used tax loopholes and deductions to reduce their tax liabilities (as the Clintons have, by the way, including on a tax Hillary wants to hike)? If so, would he consider himself "unpatriotic"? After all, he's a billionaire. He's not scraping together a living by any stretch of the imagination. Why not pay every dollar he might owe, plus more? There are roads to be paved, soldiers to be paid, and schools to fund, right? Secondly, here's the very same Mark Cuban earlier this year singing a very different tune on political candidates and tax returns:
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The Dallas Mavericks owner detailed what he thinks is the most dangerous question that can be asked of a candidate. "I can't think of anything worse I want to hear coming from someone that holds a public office or is a current presidential candidate than 'What do you have to hide'?" Cuban wrote. "The question is extremely dangerous when coming from a public official or someone running for an office. "It is being asked for no other reasons than to intimidate and to throw the subject's privacy out the door and open them up to public scrutiny." ... "So when I hear candidates ask that another make public their tax returns, it scares me," Cuban wrote. "I have absolutely nothing to hide, and if I ever run for president you will have to take my word for it and I hope every candidate for office says the exact same thing," Cuban said. "Read my words: My taxes are none of your business."
A few months later, Cuban is lecturing Trump about his lack of transparency and speculating about what Trump may be hiding. I guess when you're worth a fortune, you can afford to be shameless.
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