特朗普是美国地产业避税的缩影

 Donald Trump¹ loves to disregard political rules. Now he is trying to break yet another: although it has long been customary for American presidential candidates to release their tax returns, Mr Trump is refusing to comply.

唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)不把政治规则放在眼里。如今他又试图打破一条规则：美国总统竞选人公布纳税申报单是早已有之的惯例，但特朗普拒绝这么做。

He says this is because these need to be audited⁴ by the Inland Revenue Service; critics say he has something to hide. Either way, the row is becoming poisonous — not least because polls suggest that two-thirds of Americans think he should release those returns.

他说这是因为国内税收署(IRS)正在审计他的纳税申报单；批评者指责他有隐情（专家们都认为即使申报单正在接受审查也不妨碍公布）。不管是哪种情况，这场争议正产生负面影响——主要因为民意调查显示，三分之二的美国人认为他应当公布纳税申报单。

As the mudslinging intensifies⁵, it is not just the issue of Mr Trump’s tax returns that should make American voters angry. The bigger scandal is the way the corporate⁶ tax code treats those who own or develop real estate, and construction groups in a wider sense.

随着这场揭发秘辛的戏码愈演愈烈，美国选民应该感到愤怒的不只是特朗普不肯公布纳税申报单这件事情。公司税法中针对拥有房地产或从事房地产开发的个人以及建筑集团的规定隐藏着更大的丑闻。

For if it were to emerge that — as his critics suspect — Mr Trump has paid little (or no) tax in recent years, the dismal⁷ truth is that he is not alone. On the contrary, there are so many loopholes that an audit³ of most property groups would show rock-bottom tax rates. Or, as one powerful real estate titan recently observed to me (in private): “If you are a developer who is paying tax, you have to be pretty dumb.”

因为，如果事情真的就像批评者所怀疑的那样，特朗普近年里只缴了很少的税（或者根本没有缴税），那么，一个令人沮丧的事实是，不只是他一个人这样做。相反，由于相关税法中漏洞众多，对多数地产集团的核查将显示它们的税率居然很低。或者，正如一位有影响力的房地产巨头近来（私下里）对我提到的那样：“如果你身为地产商还纳税，那你肯定是个大傻瓜。”

Normally, these loopholes do not attract much attention. Corporate tax is fiendishly complex and many large property companies are privately⁸ held. The type of scrutiny⁹ that publicly listed companies face in relation to tax has rarely troubled big construction groups.

在正常情况下，这些漏洞没有怎么引起注意。公司税极其复杂，而许多大型地产公司属于私人所有。大型建筑公司很少碰到上市公司在税法方面受到的那种审查。

The row about Mr Trump’s returns has served the public interest by casting a spotlight¹⁰ on some of the practices. Some of these are quite colourful: a property classified as “agricultural” or “environmentally protected” can often escape certain federal and municipal taxes. It recently emerged that Mr Trump got a $39.1m tax deduction¹¹ on a New Jersey¹² golf course in 2005 because he donated the land for “conservation easement” — and installed some goats to claim it as farmland too.

特朗普纳税申报单所引起的争议于公众有益，因为它使人们关注一些税务操作手法。有些手法是相当多姿多彩的：一个地块如果被归类为“农业用地”或者“环保用地”，往往就可以免交某些联邦和市政税款。不久前有消息称，2005年特朗普在新泽西州一处高尔夫球场获得了3910万美元免税，因为他把那块地捐赠出去用于“保护地役权”，并养了一些山羊、声称那里也是农田。

The most important loopholes cannot be easily photographed. Developers can depreciate¹³ the value of their properties to reduce their tax liabilities, or appraise¹⁴ values in opaque¹⁵ ways. Another recent revelation is that Mr Trump claims for tax purposes that one of his golf courses in Ossining is worth a mere¹⁶ $1.35m — while local realtors have suggested a figure of $50m is more appropriate.

一些最重要的漏洞不是三言两语就能说明白的。开发商可以贬低其地产的价值，以减轻税务负担，或者以不透明的方式估值。最近还曝光了一件事，特朗普在报税时声称他在奥斯宁(Ossining)一处高尔夫球场的价值仅为135万美元——而当地房地产经纪人暗示，说它价值5000万美元比较合适。

If real estate groups organise¹⁷ themselves into partnerships¹⁸, they can write off mortgage interest payments against tax. They can also use the “1031 clause” in the property code, which stipulates¹⁹ that such partnerships can defer²⁰ tax on a real estate sale if they “swap” their holding for another piece of property.

如果房地产集团采取合伙制，那么它们在纳税时可以扣减按揭利息支出。它们也可以运用税例“第1031条款”。该条款规定，这类合伙制企业如果把自己的房产“交换”另一处房产，则可以递延缴纳房地产销售的利得税。

President Barack Obama tried but failed to curb²¹ the use of the clause. Even if a developer still faces a tax liability, they can almost always arrange their affairs to ensure that the gains are taxed as capital gains, not income WHY IS THIS SO?. For top earners, this cuts the tax rate from 39.8 per cent to 23.8 per cent.

美国总统巴拉克?奥巴马(Barack Obama)尝试限制该条款的使用，但没有成功。即便一家开发商仍负有纳税义务，它们几乎总是可以进行相关安排，确保他们的收益按照资本利得而不是收入来缴税。对于收入最高者而言，这么做税率会从39.8%降到23.8%。

Such loopholes are not unique to the world of property, or America. But decades of lobbying has made the US real estate pattern particularly extreme. While it is unclear how much revenue is being lost as a result, some hint of the pattern can be seen by looking at some number crunching²² recently performed by colleagues on FT Alphaville.

这些漏洞并不是房地产行业或者美国所独有的。但几十年的游说，使美国房地产业的税务漏洞变得尤为极端。尽管这样导致的税收损失有多大是个未知数，但FT Alphaville的同事们不久前进行了一些数据运算，从中可以看到一些蛛丝马迹。

Using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, they calculate that between 2011 and 2014 residential² real estate was the single most profitable American business sector²³, ahead of non-residential and construction. If you look at the amount of tax paid, the construction sector was third from bottom, while the non-residential and residential sectors²⁴ sat well below their profit rankings too. That means that real estate is producing profits, much of which are escaping the tax net. <- -CAN WE REPHRASE THIS

他们使用美国经济分析局(Bureau of Economic Analysis)的数据进行计算，发现2011年至2014年期间住宅房地产业是美国盈利水平最高的行业，领先于非住宅地产和建筑业。再来看一下纳税情况，建筑业排在倒数第三，而非住宅地产和住宅地产行业的纳税排名也远低于它们的盈利排名。这意味着，房地产行业在创造利润，但很大一部分利润逃脱了税收大网。

From a policy perspective, this looks bizarre — and wrong. There may have once been good reasons why governments felt the need to support the real estate industry: to encourage urban development, or offset²⁵ the impact of high interest rates, say. But today, rates are rock bottom, and property developers are some of the wealthiest people in the country.

从政策角度来说，这看起来很怪异，也是错误的。政府过去或许有充分理由支持房地产行业：比如鼓励城市开发，或者抵消高利率的影响。但如今利率非常之低，而地产开发商是美国国内最富有的群体之一。

So perhaps it is time for Mr Trump’s critics to widen their attack. Yes, it is interesting to speculate about how little tax Mr Trump has paid; and yes he has probably been more “creative” than most. But the really interesting question is what Mr Trump — or Hillary Clinton — would do in office. Will either of them actually abolish those real estate loopholes? Or just crack down on more visible targets such as hedge funds, banks or technology companies? No prizes for guessing the answers. And therein lies another outrage²⁶.

所以，现在特朗普的批评者或许应该扩大攻击。是的，猜测特朗普只缴了多少税是很有趣；他也大概确实比大多数人都更有“创造力”。但真正耐人寻味的是，特朗普——或希拉里?克林顿(Hillary Clinton)——上台的话会怎么做？他们中有哪一个人能够确实地堵上房地产行业的这些税务漏洞？还是只会打压那些更明显的目标，比如对冲基金、银行或科技公司？猜中答案并无奖品。这是另一个让人愤怒的地方。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

4 audited   

v.审计，查账( audit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The accounts have to be audited by a firm of external auditors. 这些账目必须由一家外聘审计员的公司来稽查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• E. g. few if any charities collection publishes audited accounts. 例如很少义款收集有公布经过查核的帐目。 来自互联网

5 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

12 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

13 depreciate   

v.降价，贬值，折旧

参考例句：

• The computer value will depreciate by $ 500 in the first year.在头一年里这台电脑会贬值500美元。
• If you neglect this property,it will depreciate.如果你忽视这份资产，它无形中就贬值了。

14 appraise   

v.估价，评价，鉴定

参考例句：

• An expert came to appraise the value of my antiques.一位专家来对我的古玩作了估价。
• It is very high that people appraise to his thesis.人们对他的论文评价很高。

15 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

16 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

17 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

18 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

19 stipulates   

n.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的名词复数 )；规定，明确要求v.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的第三人称单数 )；规定，明确要求

参考例句：

• The trade contract stipulates for the settlement of balances in RMB. 贸易合同规定余额以人民币结算。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The contract stipulates for the use of seasoned timber. 合同上订明用干透的木料。 来自辞典例句

20 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

21 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

22 crunching   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

24 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

26 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。