96% of Clintons' donations went to their foundations.

"Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill deducted $1,042,000 in charitable contributions last year — $1 million of which went to their own family non-profit, the Clinton Foundation."

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/12/96-percent-of-hillarys-charitable-donations-in-2015-went-to-clinton-foundation/#ixzz4H9PHO8Lj

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/hillary-clinton-releases-her-tax-returns/457896/

-----------

"Charity begins at home."   "I have to pay the bills,"  Bill said.  pl  

Comments

[toto]

Sir,

I was under the impression that this is precisely why foundations exist in the first place?

As a related example, there's a lot of reasons to dislike G. W. Bush, but IMO giving through the GW Bush foundation isn't one of them:

http://www.forbes.com/companies/george-w-bush-foundation/

[turcopolier]

toto

So, you think that family foundations exist so that you can launder your money back to yourself tax free? pl

[Joe100]

Having just (at long last) completed an organization's IRS application for non-profit charitable status, i can attest that most of the (lengthy) application form's questions target information that ensures such a foundation cannot launder family (or personal) funds to avoid taxes.

[turcopolier]

joe100

How naïve! I created and ran a family foundation that operated in the US and overseas. There are a multitude of dodges to be used to regain the money if you are a crook. Salaries paid to friends, consultant fees for "friends," scholarships to friends children and other relatives, kickbacks on grants, dummy projects with the potential for moving money around to create a firebreak between you and it and then kickbacks. I had to talk to many, many people who did such things here and overseas. Patronage, patronage, patronage. This works really well if you are sure you will not be investigated. pl

[Kooshy]

Colonel, FYI, there is this old Persian proverb that exactly fits your comment to this report, here is how it translates " the lamp that is needed (fit) at home, is forbidden to be given (donated) to the mosque.

[different clue]

" People want to know if their Clintons are a crook. Well . . . we're NOT a crook!
We've . . . WORKED for everything we've got."

--Hillary Milhous Clinton

[BabelFish]

Tammany Hall,updated and made global.

[The Twisted Genius]

So the Clintons donated a million dollars to the Clinton Family Foundation which pays the salaries of many of those working for the various Clinton Foundations/Initiatives and got a tax break for doing so. Certainly sounds like a tax accounting loophole available to the one percenters. Probably not illegal, but surely another thing to resent about the one percenters and our rigged system.

Can I create a family foundation and donate a substantial portion of my income and use that to pay my sons who work for a TTG Global Initiative? I'm sure I can come up with a suitable tax exempt charitable goal for the TTGGI.

[sillybill]

You can form an environmental group investigating the health of the inland waterways. Buy some boats, pay for the gas and travel expenses, get certified as water quality inspectors, etc. Of course you'also have to buy nets and fishing rods to capture enough biological specimens to examine.

[Bobo]

I saw a number once that puts their foundation(s) into perspective. It's the 500th largest in the country but the 1,700th in what goes out the door for charitable purposes. I'm sure these numbers have changed.

[Eric newhill]

People will say all kinds of things pro and con about this. There will be lots of slippery commentary. Lots of dopey fools making excuses.

Bottom line, can it really be justified that career public servants have a need to donate and write off a $million? Seriously - these people work for us?

[steve]

One of the reasons we should put a cap on the charitable giving tax deduction. I would set it at $50,000.

[Swampy]

OT, but the soup's on.

https://guccifer2.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/guccifer-2-0-hacked-dccc/

"As you see the U.S. presidential elections are becoming a farce, a big political performance where the voters are far from playing the leading role. Everything is being settled behind the scenes as it was with Bernie Sanders."

Cell phone #s, emails of every Dem in congress. Content from Pelosi's personal computer.

and it's only August.

[Dubhaltach]

In reply to The Twisted Genius 12 August 2016 at 08:08 PM

The betterment and upliftment or the clan McDubhaltach is a charitable goal near and dear to my heart ... And there's this bridge in need of refurbishment ...

[Fred]

Swampy,

That's nothing. Here's the other story:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/wikileaks-fuels-conspiracy-theories-about-dnc-staffer-s-death-n627401

People get shot in the back 5 times (but not robbed) every day in Washington D.C.

[MRW]

Exactly! Foundations exist to help those who have $50 million or more to avoid taxes. They are a “Phase IV” tax setup. Only two tax attorneys in each state, with the exception of CA and NY, have the license to create Phase IV foundations. These attorneys are required to be licensed annually by New York University after refresher courses to keep up with salient tax law changes. [If your lawyer says he can create a foundation for you, he or she is using a Phase IV tax attorney to accomplish it. Most Phase IV tax attorneys work for other attorneys who are creating foundations smaller than $50 million.]

These are not the same as non-profit orgs. Foundations are only required to spend 10% of their earnings annually on whatever the foundation was created for. The rest--90%--takes care of the owners of the foundation. Bill Gates’ foundation, for example, takes care of all his personal living, maintenance, and travel expenses, in addition to providing him and his foundation ‘employess’, like his daughter, with a ‘salary’. All while getting the kudos for being a big-boy philanthropist and under the radar tax-wise. Foundations are so old in this country that it is doubtful they will be changed.

I remember meeting the sister of a gay NYC fashion designer who died of aids. The designer had a foundation. I met her at a fund-raiser she was holding for the foundation, ostensibly to combat aids. Spent time with her over the following two days. She crowed about what she could get away with: her new multi-million dollar penthouse on Central Park, her $250/pop massages, exotic travel and lodgings, etc. She had grown up in Harlem and couldn’t believe her good fortune inheriting what she did.

[MRW]

TTG,

Yes.

[kooshy]

This is even better
http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/trump-trolling-attacks-presidency-u-s-institutions-742770755849

[Joe100]

I plead guilty to being naive about this! Your points are well taken - I just have not spent enough (any) time around criminals. And your statement that "this works really well if you are sure you will not be investigated" is key - clearly the current situation re: Clinton Foundation.

With the FBI leaks I wonder if the fix can prevail?

[turcopolier]

joe100

IM experience new money businessmen are mostly willing to break various laws in various countries if they think they can get away with it and they generally have no social conscience whatever. Will "the fix" hold in this case? It probably will because the Borgist media are determined to minimize or ignore it. pl

[Freudenschade]

Col.,

Although they may sound the same, the Clinton Family Foundation is distinct from the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation (of the influence peddling questions).

[turcopolier]

freudenschade

So what? they can launder money back to themselves from both and the CGI. pl

[The Twisted Genius]

Dubhaltach,

A worthy goal, I'm sure. But I'll think I'll stick with a more maritime endeavor.

[The Twisted Genius]

sillybill ,

I like the cut of your jib. I can see commissioning of a fleet of steam launches and a square rigger or two. I would definitely issue a letter of marque to these guys as the riverine flotilla of the TTGGI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RaFApVP0zU

[Fred]

MRW,

Only two lawyers in NY can do this type of law? That's absurd.