Trump May Have Made Illegal Payments to Charities Through Foundation

Posted on October 04, 2016

According to an article by The Washington Post, the Donald J. Trump Foundation may have engaged in self-dealing by paying settlements on behalf of Trump individually and his businesses through his tax-exempt foundation.

According to the article, Trump made $125,000 in donations to veterans charities through the foundation in settlement of fines related to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. The fines were assessed against the Mar-a-Lago Club.

However, the checks that paid the fines were issued by the Donald J. Trump Foundation. A similar payment in the amount of $158,000 was made in 2010 on behalf of one of Trump’s golf courses in New York. Further, in 2014, Trump bought a portrait of himself for $10,000 at a Unicorn Children’s Foundation fundraiser that was paid for by a check from the Tump Foundation.

IRS regulations prohibit acts of self-dealing, which states: “if a private foundation makes a grant or other payment which satisfies the legal obligation of a disqualified person, such grant or payment shall ordinarily constitute an act of self-dealing…”

The bottom line here is that if Trump used money from his charitable foundation to satisfy a personal obligation, he has broken the law. What do you think?

Do you owe the IRS back taxes or are you currently under audit? Contact Chicago tax lawyer Patrick T. Sheehan and Associates today for a consultation.