Trump paid little to no federal income taxes over several years as he piled up losses and debt, NYT reports

Trump called the story “fake news” at a White House news conference that took place shortly after the story was published. 

The Trump campaign did not provide a comment. The White House referred CNBC to Trump’s private lawyers. An attorney who has represented the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

An attorney for the Trump Organization, Alan Garten, said in a statement to the Times that “most, if not all, of the facts” the newspaper reported appeared to be inaccurate. 

“Over the past decade, President Trump has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015,” Garten said. 

Trump has bucked the precedent followed by every major presidential contender since the 1970s by refusing to release his tax returns. He has provided shifting explanations for his refusal to do so.

According to the Times, the tax records do not reveal any previously unknown ties to Russia, which have been the subject of much speculation. The records do detail questionable practices, however, including a $72.9 million tax refund under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. 

During his first two years in office, Trump took in $73 million from foreign sources, according to the Times.

The newspaper reported that the bulk of that money came from his golf properties in Scotland and Ireland, though he also received $3 million from the Philippines, $2.3 million from India and $1 million from Turkey, according to the paper. 

The Biden campaign did not immediately provide comment on the Times report. 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/27/trump-paid-little-to-no-federal-income-taxes-over-several-years-nyt-.html