Let’s say I’m a struggling, but very well off, businessman in the resort and hospitality industry. I have golf resorts around the world, but all of them are losing millions of dollars every year, such that it almost seems intentional. On the bright side, I don’t have to pay much (or anything) in taxes, since I’m losing money every year.
Why not run a profitable resort? Is the tax penalty for running a successful business really that much worse than the millions of dollars in losses?
How am I enriching myself here? Am I actually just laundering money? How does this stuff work?
**Edit:** Ok, this is making a lot more sense after just a few responses. Followup question, what kind of criminal charges might be brought against me, if it turns out I am actually lying about my business’s profitability and, my tax liability, and have been doing so for years?
In: Economics
Here’s a great thread on how the self-dealing works.
[https://twitter.com/adamdavidson/status/1310929478030426112](https://twitter.com/adamdavidson/status/1310929478030426112)
*The thing everyone reports is the losses–the shareholder (Trump) has lost more than £7M. But the interesting stuff is the fixed asset value and the creditors–over one year. Trump is all of them: he owns the asset, lends the money, owes the money, is owed the money.*
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