Linda Sugin wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about Donald Trump’s eponymous charitable organization.
In addition to being the Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump is president of the relatively small Donald J. Trump Foundation and chairman of the relatively large Trump Organization. Although the foundation is a charitable organization, it appears to have been used for less than charitable purposes.
According to exhaustive reporting by David A. Fahrenthold of The Washington Post, Mr. Trump may have used the foundation to pay expenses for his business, to buy himself gifts and to make a political contribution. These things are all clearly prohibited under both federal and state charities law. No competent lawyer would advise a charitable foundation that such payments were allowable, and only someone with no respect for charity would so flagrantly violate these basic rules.
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Misrepresentation by charities stymies enforcement. If not for Mr. Fahrenthold’s reporting, neither the public nor the government might ever have known that Mr. Trump most likely used the foundation as a personal piggy bank.
Charities can depend on the I.R.S. to highlight relevant legal issues, and thereby educate charity managers about their fiduciary obligations. You don’t need to be a lawyer to realize that the payments reportedly made by Mr. Trump’s foundation are forbidden: The I.R.S.’s Form 990-PF, which all foundations are required to file, flags the issues by posing pointed questions about improper activities.
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The law demands transparency to make sure charitable organizations deserve the favorable tax treatment they receive. While Mr. Trump has refused to release his personal tax returns for public inspection, investigation of the foundation’s returns show that he has not been forthcoming with the tax authorities.
The foundation’s returns also tell us something about Mr. Trump’s charitable giving, which his personal returns would more fully reveal: He may not be very generous. Mr. Trump’s most recent contribution to the foundation was $30,000 in 2008. No member of the Trump family has made a donation since. The candidate may have given to other charities directly, but he will have to release his personal returns for voters to know for sure.
Violations of these rules are an affront to all charities. The I.R.S. and the attorney general of New York, Eric Schneiderman, who is investigating the foundation to determine whether it complied with state law, should hold it to the highest standard. If the reported violations prove true, the foundation does not deserve its charitable or tax-exempt status.
Americans who give to, volunteer with, or depend on charities should know that politicking and self-dealing by charities are never acceptable. The candidate’s apparent disregard for the law does not bode well for a Trump administration.
