[quote=no_such_reality]Capital loss, operating loss, doesn’t really matter. The tax and business laws are (were) such that maximizing the paper loss ( real losses too) allows carry forward. Then discharging that loss with a BK.
I did loss realization thing in 2001 & 2002, I maximized my realized taxable losses to minimize taxes going forward. I still had more money than I had in 2000, I just didn’t have the vapor money I had in 2001. I skipped the BK part.
He lost a billion and 20 years later not only is still standing, but living larger.
I can point to all sorts of successful business that have lost a billion in any given year.
None of which changes my mind on not voting for him.[/quote]
It wasn’t a paper loss. It was a real loss. It wasn’t his stock losing value. Or likely even his real estate losing value. It was an operating loss.
It does really matter whether it was an operating loss or a capital loss. A $billion ordinary loss could cut his income tax bill by $400 million. A capital loss cuts his (and your) income by no more than $3,000 per year and tax by not much more than $1,200 a year. Maybe forever.
And I’m pretty sure you can’t point to very many individuals who have lost a billion dollars in one year on an operating business.
