Trump earned $153 million and paid $36.5 million in income taxes in 2005, paying a roughly 25 percent effective tax rate thanks to a tax he has since sought to eliminate, according to highly sought-after tax documents disclosed Tuesday night.
The pages from Trump's federal tax return show the then-real estate mogul also reported a business loss of $103 million that year, although the documents don't provide detail. The forms show that Trump paid an effective tax rate of 24.5 percent, a figure well above the roughly 10 percent the average American taxpayer forks over each year.
2. Facing defiance, GOP leaders are pressing ahead on their health bill
Republican leaders and the White House redoubled their efforts yesterday to muscle legislation overhauling America's health care system through Congress.
With leaders hoping to move the measure through the House next week so the Senate can debate it, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged they were open to changes. President Trump discussed the legislation by phone with the House's two top Republicans and he also dispatched Vice President Mike Pence and health secretary Tom Price to hear GOP senators' concerns.
3. Secret Service has its eye on Snoop Dogg over his music video featuring a mock Trump shooting
A representative for the U.S. Secret Service told TheWrap on Tuesday that the agency, which is responsible for the safety of President Trump, is “aware of” the video “Lavender,” which features Snoop Dogg shooting a clown-faced Trump stand-in with a toy gun.
It is unclear whether the agency is investigating or planning to investigate the video, as the Secret Service spokesman said that the agency had no further public comment on the matter at this time.
In the video, directors Jesse Wellens and James DeFina depict an America where everyone’s a clown, including president “Ronald Klump.”
After Klump holds a press conference to announce the deportation of all "doggs," Snoop chains up the Clown-in-Chief and shoots him with a toy gun.
4. Daudt: Legislature might try to opt out of pay raise
House Speaker Kurt Daudt said yesterday that he is having legislative legal and human resources staff examine whether a hefty pay raise for lawmakers is truly binding or if the Legislature can turn it down.
The raise takes lawmaker salaries from about $31,000 to $45,000 beginning in July, a 45 percent jump that the Legislative Salary Council framed as a catch-up for years of stagnant pay.
The 16-member, bipartisan council was created by a voter-approved constitutional amendment in November. The panel issued its decision on Friday, but it’s still up to the Legislature to allocate more than $2.8 million to cover the costs. Daudt said the review seeks to answer whether the pay raise is indeed mandatory.
The proposal, which cleared a Senate committee Tuesday, allows off-duty cops to take firearms into certain venues after going through regular security screening and presenting a valid law enforcement ID.
Police unions are pushing the idea, but the bill has raised some alarm, including from the Minnesota Vikings.
The discussion stems from the Minnesota Citizens' Personal Protection Act, which became law 14 years ago. It expanded the right of permitted gun owners to carry guns in public.
As part of that law, privately-owned establishments were empowered to keep guns out by posting a sign indicating they banned guns on the premises. That includes places like malls, restaurants and sports stadiums.