AP FACT CHECK: Trump 's tax fiction and embrace of propaganda
President Donald Trump's rally in Missouri this past week was a set-piece of distortion about taxes and the economy.  He  compounded  his  growing legacy of false tales on Twitter  where  he  spread a British fringe group's factually twisted propaganda aimed at stirring hate and fear of Muslims.
A look at statements from  his  rally Wednesday  the anti-Muslim propaganda  he  retweeted and more:
 TRUMP  describes the tax overhaul as "the biggest tax cut in the history of our country â bigger than Reagan " and says of lawmakers: "For years they have not been able to get tax cuts  many  many years since Reagan."
In just one area  the Senate bill would slash the tax paid by companies with profits that double as the owner's personal income. These are known as "pass-through" companies.  Trump  controls about 500 such entities  according to  his  lawyers. Instead of paying at a top rate of 39.6 percent   Trump  would probably be taxed closer to 30 percent.  He  also stands to get a break on the Alternative Minimum Tax and a modestly lower personal income tax rate.  His  family-managed fortune is bound to benefit from the elimination or reduction of the estate tax.
Over the longer term  the Federal Reserve says 34 firms have added more than $750 billion in capital since 2009. That capital essentially is held in reserves that would help the companies weather a future crisis like the 2008 financial meltdown that prompted steps to overhaul the financial sector. Among those steps was the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  which many Republicans complain is overbearing and which became the subject of a power struggle this past week as  Trump  and Obama-era officials vied for control of it ( Trump  won).
THE FACTS: They failed  twice. Each time Republicans could not summon the votes in their own ranks to get rid of "Obamacare." That's when  Trump  and the GOP in Congress turned to a tax overhaul instead. They are almost certain to try again on health care.
Papers signed in China during  Trump 's visit  for example  were largely a packaging of previously worked-out deals  tentative investments  statements of intent and extensions of business with existing Chinese customers  with some new orders. They did not reflect a solution to underlying U.S. grievances about Chinese trading practices.
THE FACTS: The tweet by Jayda Fransen of the anti-Muslim group Britain First is false.  Trump  retweeted it anyway.
The Dutch Embassy responded to  Trump 's dissemination of the video with a tweet directed to him: "Facts do matter. The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law."
 TRUMP   asking in a tweet Wednesday whether MSNBC host Joe Scarborough will be fired "based on the 'unsolved mystery' that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!"
THE FACTS: Authorities decided years ago there's no mystery to investigate  despite  Trump 's insinuation of wrongdoing by Scarborough when he was a congressman in Florida. Lori Klausutis  who worked in Scarborough's Fort Walton Beach congressional office  was found dead in the office in July 2001. An autopsy revealed that Klausutis had an undiagnosed heart condition and a coroner concluded she passed out and hit her head as she fell. The coroner said the head injury caused the death and no one struck her.
[TGT] 's rally in Missouri this past week was a set-piece of distortion about taxes and the economy.   [TGT]   compounded   [TGT]   growing legacy of false tales on Twitter  where   [TGT]   spread a British fringe group's factually twisted propaganda aimed at stirring hate and fear of Muslims.
A look at statements from  his  rally Wednesday  the anti-Muslim propaganda  he  retweeted and more:
  [TGT] describes the tax overhaul as "the biggest tax cut in the history of our country â bigger than Reagan " and says of lawmakers: "For years they have not been able to get tax cuts  many  many years since Reagan."
In just one area  the Senate bill would slash the tax paid by companies with profits that double as the owner's personal income. These are known as "pass-through" companies.   [TGT]   controls about 500 such entities  according to   [TGT]   lawyers. Instead of paying at a top rate of 39.6 percent    [TGT] would probably be taxed closer to 30 percent.   [TGT]   also stands to get a break on the Alternative Minimum Tax and a modestly lower personal income tax rate.   [TGT]   family-managed fortune is bound to benefit from the elimination or reduction of the estate tax.
Over the longer term  the Federal Reserve says 34 firms have added more than $750 billion in capital since 2009. That capital essentially is held in reserves that would help the companies weather a future crisis like the 2008 financial meltdown that prompted steps to overhaul the financial sector. Among those steps was the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  which many Republicans complain is overbearing and which became the subject of a power struggle this past week as   [TGT]   and Obama-era officials vied for control of it (  [TGT] won).
THE FACTS: They failed  twice. Each time Republicans could not summon the votes in their own ranks to get rid of "Obamacare." That's when  Trump  and the GOP in Congress turned to a tax overhaul instead. They are almost certain to try again on health care.
Papers signed in China during  Trump 's visit  for example  were largely a packaging of previously worked-out deals  tentative investments  statements of intent and extensions of business with existing Chinese customers  with some new orders. They did not reflect a solution to underlying U.S. grievances about Chinese trading practices.
THE FACTS: The tweet by Jayda Fransen of the anti-Muslim group Britain First is false.   [TGT] retweeted  [TGT]  anyway.
The Dutch Embassy responded to  Trump 's dissemination of the video with a tweet directed to  [TGT] : "Facts do matter. The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands.  [TGT]  received and completed  [TGT]  sentence under Dutch law."
 TRUMP   asking in a tweet Wednesday whether MSNBC host Joe Scarborough will be fired "based on the 'unsolved mystery' that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!"
THE FACTS: Authorities decided years ago there's no mystery to investigate  despite   [TGT]  's insinuation of wrongdoing by Scarborough when he was a congressman in Florida. Lori Klausutis  who worked in Scarborough's Fort Walton Beach congressional office  was found dead in the office in July 2001. An autopsy revealed that Klausutis had an undiagnosed heart condition and a coroner concluded she passed out and hit her head as she fell. The coroner said the head injury caused the death and no one struck her.