Small business advisers for Trump have suffered bankruptcies and dodged taxes

Members of Republican presidential candidate’s small business
advisory council made corporate missteps, according to court
filings, tax records and documents

Jon Swaine
Friday 21 October 2016 18.04 BST

Donald Trump is being advised on business policy by executives who suffered multimillion-dollar bankruptcies, were sued by authorities for not paying large tax bills, and were accused of failing to act against sexual assault in the workplace.

A review of court filings, tax records and other documents found some members of Trump’s new Small Business Advisory Council had made serious corporate missteps while others were not, in fact, small business owners at all.

According to a briefing document released by the campaign, the panel is advising the Republican presidential nominee on issues such as regulation and tax. “For the first time in a long time Small Businesses are concerned enough that they will be a very strong coalition for the Trump Pence in 2016 [sic],” the document said.

At least two members of the council have endured bankruptcy after becoming unable to pay debts. Trump, a property developer and television host, has put six companies into bankruptcy since 1991. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment about the advisers.

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