Did Donald Trump use his charity to buy himself a Tim Tebow autograph?
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Back in 2012, when Tim Tebow was still the polarizing quarterback of the Broncos, and Donald Trump was just a private citizen (albeit a very public one), Trump got into a bidding war at a charity event while attempting to purchase an autographed Tebow helmet and jersey.
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The reality show star eventually won out with a $12,000 bid, but did not pay from a personal account but rather from the coffers of his own nonprofit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which The Washington Post has now pointed out could be a violation of tax code.
As with anything involving taxes, it is all fairly confusing, but the gist of the problem is that charities may not use donated money for the “furnishing of goods” for its own executives. And Trump’s foundation failed to report any such violation on its 2012 tax return.
The presidential candidate may be able to avoid the violation though, as it only applies if he kept the Tebow memorabilia for himself. If he later used it for a charitable purpose, it would no longer be considered an infraction of tax code.
Perhaps the businessman could even swing a deduction out of his purchase, as the Post points out the night the politician made the purchase Tebow lost handily in the playoffs to Trump’s dear friend Tom Brady and the Patriots, which likely caused the helmet and jersey to depreciate quickly.
