I was critical of the Trump tax returns last night, and I stand by that position. I want to lay out there the reasons for my criticism, and also note that taking aggressive deductions is not criminal (in some ways it really is an invitation for the IRS to challenge ...

some of the deductions. The first criticism I have is that Trump's tax returns again reveal he's not a "great businessman." He inherited a lot of money, and is an excellent marketer. He's been pretty underwhelming at actually managing businesses, however.

His big life success in business was The Apprentice and the branding of "Trump properties" (which he typically didn't own). His failures tend to involve properties that he owns. If nothing else, these returns point to a biz empire that is not exactly thriving. ...

The second criticism is that, while this is not unique to developers, Trump is extraordinarily aggressive in writing off losses. There's an art to it, but you'd probably be hard pressed to find a person of very high net worth who is more aggressive in tax avoidance.

This is not criminal, far from it. It may lead to IRS problems (which Trump appears to have, quite frankly). But it does bear on whether you'd want someone likely gaming the system to the maximum extent possible as your President.

People are entitled to make that call either way, but I find it hard to believe they'd accept that from someone on the other side of the political spectrum.

So I don't think Trump is a crook for his tax-related activity, but I don't think it bears on his foundational reason for running ("I'm a great businessman") and his character as applied to obtaining high office. End.