I don’t view this as a Trump problem. This is a side effect and glaring example of tax loophole utilization that’s available to all real estate owners. Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs only exacerbated the problem.

Allowing people to take “bonus” depreciation and doubling the estate tax exclusion are all steps in the wrong direction imo. They allow those who make significant gross income to section off portions of that income as “non-taxable”.

Also, I imagine the majority of Trump’s income is capital gains, which at base is taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income to begin with.

I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that he continued to claim himself as a real estate professional during presidency for the ability to deduct real estate losses against ordinary income as well, which doesn’t make sense to me as he should not qualify as a real estate professional while simultaneously acting as president.

All of these put together results in a a wholly unfair taxation system where a real estate owner’s gains are almost fully shielded from taxation, while a poor person working two jobs is taxed according to the full weight of ordinary income tax.