Trump's Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million [View all]

Source: Forbes

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Trump's Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million

The president secures a get-out-of-jail-free card for tax improprieties, just as he's hauling in record amounts of cash.

By Dan Alexander, Senior Editor. Dan Alexander covers Trump's business.
May 21, 2026, 01:10pm EDT, Updated May 21, 2026, 01:12pm EDT


A golden Donald Trump statue popped up at Trump National Doral, the president's golf resort in Miami, last month.
PGA TOUR (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed a document Tuesday giving Donald Trump, his two eldest sons and his company broad immunity for potential tax disputes with the federal government. It's the clearest way that the president is personally benefitting from his settlement with the Internal Revenue Service, which he sued days after taking office for failing to prevent the release of his personal tax returns.

The settlement lands at a convenient moment. Donald Trump earned an estimated $1.4 billion from crypto and licensing ventures in 2025, as he turned his first year back in the White House into the most lucrative year of his life. If the president received an extension for his 2025 return, his preparers may be sorting through exactly how to present this year's welter of income right now. Trump has never hidden the animating principle. When Hillary Clinton accused him of paying no taxes in the 2016 debates, he replied: "That makes me smart." Also much richer. If Trump is able to conjure up theories to avoid taxes for his 2025 income, he could save more than a half-billion dollars, according to Forbes estimates.

The conflict-of-interest underpinning all of this is so obvious that even Trump has acknowledged it. "I'm the one that makes the decision, right?" he mused in the Oval Office in October. "You know, that decision would have to go across my desk. And it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself." Trump first suggested he would send whatever judgement he received to charity, before settling on a more creative approach. The government would not pay Trump. Instead, Trump would get a pass enabling him to pay less to the government. The move harkens the old clich--a penny saved is a penny earned--with the same result: more money in Trump's pocket.

Asked about all this, the White House referred questions to the Trump Organization. The president's business did not dispute the estimates but opted to issue a lengthy statement attacking the IRS that said, in part, "This settlement seeks to provide meaningful accountability for the IRS's prolonged and systemic failure to safeguard sensitive taxpayer data."

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Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2026/05/21/trumps-tax-immunity-could-save-him-more-than-600-million/

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Reposted by Kevin M. Kruse
https://bsky.app/profile/kevinmkruse.bsky.social

******
Colin Woodard
‪@colinwoodard.bsky.social‬

“Drain the Swamp” turned out to mean “into his pockets.”

‪Zach Everson‬
‪@zacheverson.com‬
· 6h

Oh—

"Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million"

by @danalexander21.bsky.social for Forbes

Why Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million
The president secures a get-out-of-jail-free card for tax improprieties, just as he’s hauling in record amounts of cash.
www.forbes.com
1:49 PM · May 21, 2026
******

“Drain the Swamp” turned out to mean “into his pockets.”

— Colin Woodard (@colinwoodard.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T17:49:05.645Z

******
Zach Everson
‪@zacheverson.com‬

Oh—

"Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million"

by @danalexander21.bsky.social for Forbes

Why Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million
The president secures a get-out-of-jail-free card for tax improprieties, just as he’s hauling in record amounts of cash.
www.forbes.com
1:43 PM · May 21, 2026
******

Oh—

"Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than 0 Million"

by @danalexander21.bsky.social for Forbes

— Zach Everson (@zacheverson.com) 2026-05-21T17:43:04.285Z