Donald Trump on Corporations 2016 Republican incumbent President; 2000 Reform Primary Challenger for President

Sub-sections under Corporations:
• Business Advice
• Other issues under Corporations

If we raise tax rates, companies will leave the country

TRUMP: Our corporate taxes were the highest in the world, and now they're among the lower taxes. They're not the lowest, but they're among the lowest. That means jobs. If we get in, we're going to do the middle income tax package. If [Biden] comes along and raises rates, all those companies that are coming in, they will leave the U.S. so fast your head will spin. We can't let that happen.

BIDEN: About $1.3 trillion of the $2 trillion in his cuts went to the top one-tenth of 1%. That's what I'm talking about eliminating, not all the tax cuts. You have 91 out of the Fortune 500 companies not paying a single solitary penny. If you raise the corporate tax back to 28%, which is a fair tax, you'd raise one trillion, three hundred billion dollars. If you made sure that people making over $400 grand paid what they did [under] Bush, 39.6%, you would raise another $92 billion

OpEd: replaced scientific fact with profit-driven opinion

The weakening of our public administration infrastructure has reached its pinnacle in the Trump administration. Trump and his cabinet have consistently derided the very institutions they lead. Americans have become inured to the churn of cabinet officials and staff officials and staff departures. Trump's steady stream lies has half of the country turning a deaf ear and the other half ingesting false information. Trump's actions have built on the GOP's intentional destruction of institutions, and has left America weakened in a time of international crisis.

No more estate tax on small farms, small business

Companies will pay dearly for moving jobs out of US

Last year, we lost 800--this for many years--almost $800 billion on trade. It's not sustainable. You can't do that. And now we're making great trade deals. I say, India is a very high-tariff nation. They charge us a lot. When we send a motorcycle to India, it's 100 percent tariff. They charge 100 percent. When India sends a motorcycle to us, we brilliantly charge them nothing. I want a reciprocal tax, or at least I want to charge a tax. It's called a mirror tax, but it's a reciprocal tax.

Historic tax cuts and reforms for American businesses

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP said, "Tuesday is a day hardworking Americans may dread more than any other. Tax Day. A day that individuals and families, small business owners and part-time workers struggle to conquer a burdensome, complex and extremely unfair tax code to determine how much money they owe the government. But we are changing Tax Day for Americans across the country. This is the last year Americans will fill out outdated, complicated tax forms. In the years ahead, because I signed one of the largest tax cuts in history and the most sweeping tax reform in a generation, many Americans will complete their taxes on a simple, single sheet of paper."

Business tax rate slashed from 35% to 21%

Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses--many of them thousands of dollars per worker. Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers.

This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream. If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve anything.

Reducing taxes from 35% to 15% will be a job creator

Get U.S. money back into U.S.: address corporate inversion

0% corporate tax would create millions of jobs

Fight crony capitalism with a level playing field

I love capitalism enough to protect it. There has to be a level playing field where everyone can compete fairly. The guy swinging a hammer all day shouldn't have the government reaching in his pocket and handing his taxes to Obama's big shot donors. It's wrong and unfair.

Wealthy move assets around globally based on tax incentives

When questioned, Trump also argued that the tax would drive the wealthy to shift their assets, the developer dismissed those concerns: "Well, I just think that the booming economy that we create by my plan would keep the money here because it's incentive. They're going to want to be where the action is. They're going to want to be where the good economy is. And they move their money around, hey, including me. You move your money around where the action is, and now it's a real world economy. But this country would be booming. We'd have no debt. It would be unbelievable."

Litigation system is abused to force deal negotiations

Politicians ought to be ashamed of themselves for perpetuating this ridiculous situation. Court systems have become backlogged for years with superfluous cases. In New York in particular, a case will often take seven or eight years to actually get to court. This is certainly not the judge's fault, because most of the judges in New York are hardworking, diligent men and women with brilliant legal minds. The fault lies in a system that is meant to be abused, and which is costing states and the country hundreds of millions of dollars. Perhaps more important, its creating centuries worth of delay.

Any business of any size will pay no more than 15% tax

The plan states that any business of any size will pay no more than 15 percent of their business income in taxes. This low rate will make corporate inversions unnecessary and will make America one of the most competitive markets in the world. This plan will also require companies with off- shore capital to bring that money back to the United States at a repatriation rate of only 10 percent.

Attended Wharton but unimpressed by academic credentials

I've used bankruptcy laws to do a great job for my companies

TRUMP: Because I have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for my company, for myself, for my employees, for my family. I have never gone bankrupt, by the way. I have never.

Q: But your companies have gone bankrupt.

TRUMP: Out of hundreds of deals that I've done, on 4 occasions I've taken advantage of the laws of this country, like other people. The difference is, when somebody else uses those laws, nobody writes about it. When I use it, they say, "Trump, Trump, Trump."

Q: Trump Entertainment Resorts went bankrupt in 2009; lenders to your company lost over $1 billion and more than 1,100 people were laid off.

TRUMP: These lenders aren't babies. These are total killers. These are not the nice, sweet little people that you think, OK? I had the good sense to leave Atlantic City; every company virtually in Atlantic City went bankrupt

Pragmatic positive: be positive, but be realistic

Being a know-it-all shuts the door on new ideas

If I'd started in business thinking I knew everything, I'd have been sunk. Don't make that mistake. There are a lot of hidden aspects in every industry, and you will find out how complex seemingly simple things can be.

In the game of life, money is how you score

Sure, you need to get paid for your work, and you will if you provide something valuable. In the game of life, money is how you score. Yet the real fun is not in simply scoring; rather it is in the excitement you will have coming up with creative ways to get the ball in the goal. Find your passion in doing something useful for people and the money will follow.

It may sound simple, but I have become a billionaire many times over by sticking with this simple philosophy. Many people believe that I started out with a lot of money from my father. The truth is that when I started out in business, I was practically broke. My father didn't give me much money, but what he did give me was a good education and the simply formula for getting wealthy: work hard doing what you love.

A great deal when both sides win? That's a bunch of crap

I trust my instinct on business deals as well as personal

When I first started building golf courses, my instincts told me it was a good business decision. I knew if I combined my passion for golf with my knowledge of real estate, I would succeed. The results have been spectacular.

Practice listening to your instincts. Play with this skill, and test it out on small decisions. Learn to trust it. You will acquire a real edge in both your business and your personal life. Use this skill to choose who you date and who you trust to babysit your children.

Many things are hidden from us that we cannot articulate logically, but somehow we know they are there. We have a vague feeling that cannot be explained. Your instincts are there to guide you. Use them.

How big you think determines how big a success you become

Bankers would much rather lend money for a big project than for a small one. If you succeed with the big project, you stand to gain a lot more money.

The first step to success is to make the leap from being nobody to being somebody. Most people are afraid to think big. They just can't do it. Why? Because they cannot imagine themselves doing big things; they do not have the knowledge, experience, or track record. They have none of the trappings that a successful big- thinking person has. When it comes to thinking big, you are your own worst enemy.

Do you believe that thinking big is reserved for people with money, college degrees, family connections, or even intelligence? That is not true. Anyone can think big. The most important thing is the size of your thinking. How big you think determines how big a success you become.

Learning to be spontaneous takes preparation & practice

Few people are naturally gifted extemporaneous speakers, but most can learn. It usually takes training, experience, and discipline. If you want to learn how to talk on your feet, know your subject inside out so that you will never have to hesitate or bluff because questions will not surprise or stump you. You'll know every answer, and each question will give you a great opportunity to show how good you are and how much you know. Master your subject; know it cold.

Move quickly from seeing problems to seeing solutions

By now, I've been in business long enough to have had ups and downs. I've enjoyed magnificent victories and suffered painful defeats. I've learned to go quickly from seeing problems to seeing their solutions. The secret to resolving problems is to emphasize the solution more than the problem; accentuate the positive without ignoring the negative.

12-hour working days are my norm, not an exception

Sue scoundrels but settle with the rest

I have come to hate doctors. I think that, generally, they are a bunch of money-grubbing hogs. I can tell you about countless instances when doctors have ruined people's lives. As an example, a person I am very fond of had a foot injury that I believe should have healed naturally, but instead, the doctor operated on it, fitting pins and plates into the foot. Now, after over a year of convalescence, this person is having a hard time walking. I think that suing a doctor like this would qualify as worthwhile legal expense.

Sometimes I wait 5 minutes for a deal; sometimes 15 years

One good tactic for speeding up a deal is to show a lack of interest in it. This will often make the other side rekindle their efforts to get something going. I was very interested in a deal once, but I said I'd been traveling for a couple of weeks and would get back to them after that. While I was "traveling," they used the time to modify their position and present to me almost precisely what I'd been hoping to get.

A good tactic for slowing down a deal is to distract the other side. One way is to drop hints about whether a certain aspect of the deal should be looked into further, or to mention other deals. That will set them off in a direction that consumes their time. While they're off on a tangent, you'll still be on target.

Personal bankruptcy is a negotiating tool; I'd never do it

We've all been victims of herd mentality on Wall Street

Signed bill for regulatory relief for smaller banks.

Congressional Summary:

Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act
• TITLE I--IMPROVING CONSUMER ACCESS TO MORTGAGE CREDIT: [for small banks,] requirements are waived if a loan is originated by and retained by the institution
• TITLE II--REGULATORY RELIEF AND PROTECTING CONSUMER ACCESS TO CREDIT: [deregulate] reciprocal deposits [if they] do not exceed 20% of its total liabilities.
• TITLE III--PROTECTIONS FOR VETERANS, CONSUMERS, AND HOMEOWNERS
• TITLE IV--TAILORING REGULATIONS FOR CERTAIN BANK HOLDING COMPANIES
• TITLE V--ENCOURAGING CAPITAL FORMATION
• TITLE VI--PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENT BORROWERS

Supporting press release from Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN-6): This legislation will foster economic growth by providing relief to Main Street, tailor regulations for better efficacy, and most importantly it will empower individual Americans and give them more opportunity.

Opposing statement on ProPublica.org from Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY-5): The bill includes many provisions I support: minority-owned banks and credit unions in underserved communities have legitimate regulatory burden concerns. Unfortunately, exempting mortgage disclosures enacted to detect discriminatory practices will only assist the Trump Administration in its overall effort to curtail important civil rights regulations. I simply cannot vote for any proposal that would help this Administration chip away at laws that I and my colleagues worked so hard to enact and preserve.

Legislative outcome: Passed House 258-159-10 on May 22, 2018(Roll call 216); Passed Senate 67-31-2 on March 14, 2018(Roll call 54); Signed by President Trump. May 24, 2018

Signed bill to reduce corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%.

Summary by GovTrack.US: (Nov 16, 2017)

For Corporations:
• Reduce the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%.
• Overseas earnings would be taxed at 15.5% as opposed to the current 35%. This may seem like an enormous reduction, but current law only taxes overseas earnings if they are returned to the US; the 15.5% rate would apply regardless.

For Individuals:
• Lower the rate for the highest earners from 39.6% to 37%.
• Nearly double the standard deductions for individuals but repeal personal exemptions.
• The Affordable Care Act's individual mandate would be repealed.

Case for voting NO by Sierra Club (11/16/17): Republicans have passed a deeply regressive tax plan that will result in painful cuts to core domestic programs, to give billionaires and corporate polluters tax cuts while making American families pay the price. Among the worst provisions: