A new report claims President Trump has paid virtually no taxes for the past two decades. According to the “New York Times” says Trump paid only 750-dollars in federal income taxes the year he won the White House. It also claims he paid no income taxes at all in ten of the previous 15 years mainly because of huge reported losses.
Trump has refused to release his tax returns since his 2016 campaign, over claims he is under audit. The “Times” says reporters based the story on tax information it obtained for more than two decades...but won’t publish the exact information to avoid revealing their source. Some takeaways from the the report:
“The Times” says Trump initially paid $95-million in taxes over the 18-years it studied, noting that he recovered most of that money by claiming — and receiving — a $72.9-million federal tax refund.
According to “The Times,” Trump also pocketed $21.2-million in state and local refunds, which are typically based on federal filings.
As a result of the refunds, Trump paid an average $1.4-million in federal taxes from 2000 to 2017
As for how he’s gotten such refunds, “The Times noted that Trump’s homes, planes and golf courses are part of the Trump family business. As such, they’re classified as business expenses. Because companies can write off business expenses as deductions, all such expenses have helped reduce Trump’s tax liability.
But also, “The Times” reports that since 2000, Trump has claimed $315-million in losses on his golf courses. Similarly, his Trump International Hotel in Washington has lost $55-million.
But that’s not all. According to “The Times,” the President appears to be responsible for $421-million in loans, most of which will come due within four years. That’s reportedly on top of a $100 million mortgage on Trump Tower in New York, which will come due in 2022.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Trump is condemning the report – and during a press conference, he called the report "fake news" – and repeated the charge via Twitter. “It’s fake news,” Trump told reporters. “It’s totally fake news. Made up. Fake.” Trump went on to say that the truth of the matter will come out – just not yet. “It’ll all be revealed,” Trump offered. “It’s gonna come out — but after the audit.” Interestingly, if he loses his audit - he could owe the government as much as $100-million.