How do you get away with paying $0 in taxes for potentially 18 years? Lose over $900 million in just one year. Okay, how do you get to that point? Just ask Donald Trump. After all, he feels that not paying for taxes makes him “smart.” Making matters more interesting, it’s quite possible that those losses weren’t net losses (meaning maybe it cost him nothing at all). Either the Donald made some really bad mistakes and isn’t incapable of failure as he portrays himself or he exposed another loophole to legally avoid taxes the entire time.

First, consider the possibility that Trump is fallible. That would undermine his claim how his business record would make him a great President. The Trump Organization has branded a Trump fragrance, clothing line, golf resort chain, air carrier, vodka, etc. and also had holdings in model management, beauty pageants, business education and various financial services. Mark Cuban has denounced Trump’s need to slap his brand in all these different industries in order to accumulate his billions. Though perseverance through failures is an important virtue of life, the Donald could also be doing nothing more than spreading out his investments in various industries to make money from all different corners as opposed to focusing on a single general industry such as entertainment. It would show he's far from perfect. Such an awful business record proves that he’s a famous businessman, not necessarily a smart one.

Is the other option of him legally avoiding all these taxes possible though? Yes, there are various options for a real estate developer to organize assets and compensation so as to lower the tax bill. At least $900 million were labeled “Other income.” CPA Robert Thesman told Market Watch that it “could include lots of other things not appearing elsewhere.” For example, he said that Trump could get a tax break for a hotel or casino experiencing a huge first-year depreciation. Professor Andrew Schmidt, who contributed to the same article, explained that losses on a tax return aren’t necessarily financial losses. This is because the total might not include net losses, which lets related profits go untaxed. Mr. Trump might be a tax genius, but what else is he hiding then?

Trump has always had a reputation for having a cavalier attitude even though he has failed as well. He was high on himself when he tweeted that knows “our tax laws better than [any previous candidate]” and is “the only one who can fix them.” Ironically, Market Watch has also claimed that Trump could’ve used his tax situation to his advantage; had he released his tax returns in the beginning, he could’ve used his tax savings to showcase the expert he is regarding tax laws. Instead, this just sheds more negative publicity for him. At this point, we can only wonder what his next rude awakening will be.