The revelation of Donald Trump’s loss of nearly a billion dollars in 1995, according to his tax records obtained by the New York Times, may bolster the visibility of the free-college tuition issue on the campaign trail.
Trump’s declared losses of $916 million on his 1995 return would have allowed him not to pay any federal taxes for up to 18 years.
It’s an example of what closing tax loopholes on the rich could mean to federal coffers, increasing the viability of college affordability plans for more low-income and middle-class Americans.
Last Wednesday, as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sec. Hillary Clinton campaigned together to reach out to millennial voters in New Hampshire, Sanders was adamant that a free college tuition plan for public colleges and universities was “revolutionary,” but worth the cost.
“It is expensive, but I will tell you what is more expensive, and that is doing nothing,” said Sanders.” We must invest in young people and the future of this country.”
Sanders then pointed to the tax system as proof that the country could afford a free-tuition plan.
“At time of massive levels of income wealth and inequality, it is absurd, it is disgraceful for Donald Trump and his friends to be talking about hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks for the 1 percent,” Sanders said. “When you have Republicans saying it is OK to give tens and tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the richest people, do not tell me that we cannot afford to make public colleges and universities tuition free.”
