The New York Times has published Donald Trump’s (r) taxes.
Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…
This evening:
Jason Kander @JasonKander
To summarize the NYT story: Trump got a bunch of $ from his daddy. He lost it all, but then he got paid hundreds of millions to play a billionaire on TV. He tried to use that $ to become a real billionaire, but he lost it all again.
“…It is time for your candidate to live up to the standards of transparency he places upon everyone else.”
Chris Koster (D) [2016 file photo].
Chris Koster’s (D) 2016 gubernatorial campaign sent the following letter to Eric Greitens’ (r) campaign:
October 4, 2016
Austin Chambers
Campaign Manager
Eric Greitens for Governor
By Email
Re: Release of Financial Disclosures
Dear Mr. Chambers:
Last Thursday, the Koster for Missouri campaign released copies of Chris Koster’s 2012 through 2015 personal U.S. federal and Missouri state tax returns, including the supporting worksheets and forms documenting all sources of income, covering the previous 4 years. With these disclosures, and in combination with the Missouri Ethics Commission filings, the voters of Missouri now have a clear and complete understanding of the amount and source of all personal earnings and campaign contributions received by Attorney General Koster.
For some time, Mr. Greitens has promised to release his own returns and disclosures only after Attorney General Koster himself did so. Yet despite that promise, your campaign now gives an array of excuses as to why you have not, and may not, release Mr. Greitens’ tax returns. This is pertinent information necessary for Missouri’s voters to assess what conflicts or contradictions exist between Mr. Greitens’ actual financial activity and his obligations should he be elected to serve as Governor.
Plainly put, just as your campaign has previously hidden the identities of multi-million dollar campaign contributors and supporters within the so-called “SEALs for Truth” and LG PAC committees, you are again keeping the voters of Missouri in the dark regarding the amounts and sources of money provided to Mr. Greitens during the last four years. This is unacceptable.
We call on you to release — by 5:00 pm Thursday, October 6th — Mr. Greitens’ detailed personal 2012 – 2015 federal and state tax returns, as well as those returns for Eric Greitens, LLC, including the supporting worksheets and forms documenting all sources of income for each return. These forms would include, but not be limited to, K-1s, W-2s, and 1099s, as were included in Attorney General Koster’s disclosure. Only with such candid disclosure is it possible for Mr. Greitens to provide the voters an equivalent assurance, as has Attorney General Koster, that no conflict or inconsistency exists between Mr. Greitens’ actual financial history, his campaign’s rhetoric, and his suitability to act as Governor.
Please consider the complete disclosures described above as an absolute condition in order for our campaign to continue negotiating with yours regarding the terms and details of the contemplated October 14th gubernatorial debate.
Your campaign and Mr. Greitens have repeatedly accused your opponents of financial conflicts, improper tax behavior, and lying. It is time for your candidate to live up to the standards of transparency he places upon everyone else.
Sincerely,
s/
Andrew P. Whalen
Koster for Missouri
What would the Donald do? Just asking.
“…Please consider the complete disclosures described above as an absolute condition in order for our campaign to continue negotiating with yours regarding the terms and details of the contemplated October 14th gubernatorial debate…”
Yesterday the right wingnut controlled Kansas Senate voted to increase regressive taxes. The Kansas House will take a look at it.
On Twitter:
Moderate Party of KS @ModerateKS
The ends dont justify the means. The “cons” lied to get elected then passed tax hikes on to working poor #ksleg 10:34 PM – 7 Jun 2015
Yael T. Abouhalkah @YaelTAbouhalkah
Johnson Countians: Your senators just passed largest tax increase ever in KS. (But you can afford it, right?) #ksleg 9:25 PM – 7 Jun 2015
KS Senate Democrats @kssenatedems
The largest tax increase in the history of our state passed earlier this evening. Not a single Democrat voted in favor of it. #ksleg 9:05 PM – 7 Jun 2015
As if any voters will remember that at the next election.
Legislature, Brownback struggle to fill $400 million budget deficit
Posted: June 6, 2015 – 11:22pm
The Kansas Senate and House participated in separate versions of legislative paralysis Saturday night while trying to wiggle state government out from under the burden of a $400 million budget deficit.
Inertia was so troublesome that House Majority Leader Jene Vickrey R-Louisburg, adjourned the House until Monday.
The Senate was still scheduled to convene Sunday, but the chamber’s agenda was unclear….
Governor Sam Brownback (r) [January 2015 file photo].
Yesterday via twitter:
Kent Bush @Kentbush
Who would have ever thought that a bunch of ideologues would have so much trouble governing through a crisis of their own making? #ksleg 11:15 PM – 6 Jun 2015
Five minus two equals seven. There are people who believe that works in Missouri, too.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is taking his tax-slashing message on the road, with two speaking events in Missouri to groups funded by St. Louis billionaire and conservative megadonor Rex Sinquefield.
Wednesday afternoon, Brownback addressed a luncheon sponsored by Grow Missouri, a Sinquefield-funded group founded two years ago to push lawmakers to enact tax cuts for individuals and businesses in the state. The title of the luncheon was “Growing Prosperity for Years to Come,” and Grow Missouri tweeted that Brownback would discuss “his tax policies and how we can adopt them.”
Joining Grow Missouri in sponsoring the luncheon were the Associated Industries of Missouri and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The event was invitation only, with a representative from Sinquefield’s lobbying firm telling The Star that no media would be allowed. Several lawmakers indicated they planned to attend….
[….]
At least we think it reads like he spoke in Jefferson City.
A comment, via Twitter:
Steven Anthony @scanthony14
Pretty sure Gov. Nixon has never gone to speak in Topeka, so why would Gov. Brownback speak in our capital? #BorderWar #MOLeg 12:51 PM – 4 Mar 2015
Uh, he’s following the money since there isn’t any left in Kansas?
Jake: ….Honest… I ran out of gas. I… I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! It wasn’t my fault, I swear to God!
….cuts, which Brownback signed into law, have resulted in the state facing hundreds of millions of dollars in budget deficits. The Legislature is working on the 2015-2016 budget now.
“What I got from the Legislature was a naked tax cut with none of the pay-fors,” he said. “I took it because it was the best we were going to get….”
Apparently Governor Brownback (r) never had the opportunity to inform the Kansas Legislature of his concerns.
Think we’ll hear the same thing for Missouri? From The Wall Street Journal in 2012:
His name isn’t Adelson or Koch, but he’s spending millions on politics, hoping to roll back taxes and reform education.
By Naomi Schaefer Riley
Oct. 26, 2012 6:36 p.m. ET
….This year he spent more than $2 million collecting signatures to eliminate the state’s corporate and personal income taxes and replace them with a sales tax capped at 7%. Mr. Sinquefield decided to postpone the initiative until next year because it wasn’t polling well.
Then again, he says, smiling, he may not need to put the initiative on the ballot in 2013 after all-because of some unexpected help from Missouri’s next-door neighbor. Earlier this year, Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law a significant tax cut, reducing the Kansas income-tax rate to 4.9% from 6.45% and eliminating taxes on 190,000 small businesses.
“Unbelievably brilliant,” Mr. Sinquefield says of the Kansas approach. He expects that businesses, especially S corporations and limited liability companies, will flock across the border. “You go into Kansas City and you stand on State Line Road, right in the heart of the metro area,” he says, and watch businesses jump from the Missouri side to Kansas. “The doctors are going to move. The lawyers are going to move. It will be a little harder for manufacturing to move, but they’ll move too. There will be a cloud of dust at the Missouri-Kansas border.” No surprise: Mr. Sinquefield bankrolled-he won’t say how much-a group called Kansans for No Income Tax that helped get the law passed…..
Churches are currently exempt from taxes since they’re listed as non-profit organizations, in spite of separation of church and state.
However, most if not all churches influence the way American citizens vote. Also, a megachurch profits(on average) about $6.5 million per year. An estimated $71 billion per year is lost in US tax revenue because of religious tax exemption. If taxed, the national debt would be paid off.
Church institutions are politically affiliated, as well as businesses. They should not be tax exempt.
Created: Jul 23, 2014
Issues: Budget and Taxes
Signatures needed by August 22, 2014 to reach goal of 100,000 94,727
Total signatures on this petition 5,273
[emphasis added]
Among the forest of petitions started on the site this one is actually generating more interest than most.
![Chris Koster (D) [2016 file photo].](https://i2.wp.com/showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/img_2028b.jpg?ssl=1)
