Trump is said to have only paid $ 750 in income tax in the 2016 election year
Trump called the report "total fake news". He will publish his tax returns when the IRS audit, which has been ongoing for years, has been completed. “The IRS is not treating me well. "
The "New York Times" got access to tax documents of Trump and hundreds of companies in his group of companies from more than two decades. This shows, among other things, that Trump would not have paid any income taxes in ten of 15 years before 2016, given the high reported losses, the newspaper wrote.
Trump had not published his tax return in the 2016 presidential election campaign, including with reference to the ongoing IRS auditing. “It will all be published, it will all come out, but after the exam.” Negotiations have been going on for a long time and things would be clarified. The IRS itself emphasizes that ongoing auditing does not stand in the way of publications.
The president is currently defending himself in a court in New York against an attempt by prosecutors from Manhattan to gain access to his private financial documents. According to the New York Times, an IRS investigation reveals a tax credit of $ 72.9 million, which he received after claiming high losses.
The detailed report of the "New York Times" with many precise figures could also increase the political pressure on Trump to provide the public with information about his finances. The documents show, among other things, that he is personally liable for debts of $ 421 million, of which more than $ 300 million would be due in the next four years, the newspaper wrote.
Success with "The Apprentice", losses with hotels
The publication also poses an image problem for Trump. For years he has presented himself as a successful and skilled businessman. General accusations that he pays too little taxes have not harmed him so far.
When, in the 2016 election campaign, the then opposing candidate Hillary Clinton pointed out his low tax payments, he interjected that it showed that he was “smart”. The figures published by the “New York Times” list losses that could not only be explained by tax minimization, but also by poor economic activity.
According to the report, an extremely successful Trump venture was the TV show "The Apprentice", which has brought him a total of $ 427.4 million over the years. In contrast, numerous hotels and golf resorts in Trump would have posted high losses.
Ridicule for hairdressing expenses
The detail from the report that Trump had more than $ 70,000 in hairdressing expenses tax deducted during the time of "The Apprentice" caused derision on the Internet. For his daughter Ivanka, nine Trump companies had deducted costs of $ 95,464 for hairstyles and make-up.
The Democrats quickly picked up the report in the election campaign. The Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, called for clarity on Trump's tax payments. Kate Bedingfield, a campaign manager for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, told CNN that the report reinforced the perception that Trump is looking down on working people.
Biden's election campaign team promptly started selling stickers on his side that read: “I paid more income taxes than Donald Trump.” The report also opened up a new target for Biden in the first presidential debate on Wednesday night.
The "New York Times" did not publish any original documents, explaining that they wanted to protect their sources. That would be a legitimate precaution: for example, printed documents can contain digital watermarks that are invisible to the human eye and can be assigned to a specific printer.