Fact Checking Worksheet

Debate Date: 09/26/2016

Location: Hofstra University, NY
Partner Names: Udeema and Aubrey
Candidate: Hillary Clinton
1. View your assigned video (take notes here about the video and the context),
and copy down your assigned quote.
"He's paid nothing in federal taxes, because the only years that anybody's ever
seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities
when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any
federal income tax."
2. Check out what other fact-checkers have said about this specific statement.
START WITH: P
olitifact-- (Others to check if you want: F
actcheck.org,
theWashington

Posts Fact Checker) -- credit them appropriately!!

Politifact rates it as mostly false. They stated that none of the tax returns have
ever been released. The 1981 report that analyzed Trumps taxes when he was
trying to get a casino license states that he did in fact pay taxes for the three out
of five years. The two years he did not pay taxes was because he lost money each
year.

3. Do a DETAILED Google search for answers: Search using as many

different combinations as you can. If were writing about something like
climate change, we might search on "climate change," "global warming,"
"carbon emissions," "carbon capture," "electricity," "EPA regulations. List
one source besides the fact check website that can help fact check this
quote. Write a brief analysis on what you found (2-3 sentences).
https://www.scribd.com/doc/301761265/Report-on-Donald-Trump-to-Casino-C
ontrol-Commission
The document does in fact state that he did pay federal taxes in the five years it
observes. However, he stated a negative income for two years which allowed him
to not pay taxes. This was also 35 years ago.
4. Find an EXPERT OPINION. What does the expert have to say about this

quote? Do you agree with him/her? Why or why not?

Tax write-offs are generous at the start of any business project, because some
ventures do not start making money for years. But when it comes to treatment by
the tax code, real estate developers have it better than anyone else, said S
teven
M. Rosenthal, a tax lawyer and senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy
Center.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
We think that he did take advantage of the system. As proved by the fact that he
said That makes me smart in response to her statement and because according
to this expert, being in the real estate business makes it easier for him to have a
negative income but still produce profit.
5. List 2 questions that you still have about this topic that YOU would like to
ask the candidate if you met him/her face to face.
Why does it make you smart if you can get away with no taxes and not morally
wrong? To Trump
Why would you lie about this if you were so focused on the facts? To Hillary
**PRINT OUT AND TURN IN ONE COPY PER PARTNER TEAM AFTER
PRESENTING WITH YOUR GROUP.