The Trumps reported heavy losses in office, paid no income tax in 2020

Washington: Donald Trump paid no income tax during the final full year of his presidency as he reported a loss from his sprawling business interests, according to tax figures released by a congressional panel.

The records, released by the Democratic-led House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee after a three-year-long fight, show that Trump’s income, and his tax liability, fluctuated dramatically during his four years in the White House.

The records cut against the Republican ex-president’s long-cultivated image as a successful businessman as he mounts another bid for the White House.

Donald Trump at the White House in 2020. Credit:Bloomberg/Andrew Harrer

Trump and his wife, Melania, paid some form of tax during all four years, the documents showed, but were able to minimise their income taxes in several years as income from Trump’s businesses was more than offset by deductions and losses.

The committee questioned the legitimacy of some of those deductions, including one for $US916 million ($1.3 million), and members said on Tuesday the tax returns were short on details. The panel is expected to release redacted versions of his full returns in coming days.

Trump refused to make his tax returns public during his two presidential bids and his campaign for office, even though all other major-party presidential candidates have done so for decades.

The report from the House Ways & Means Committee, regarding the IRS and former President Donald Trump’s tax returns released on Wednesday.Credit:AP

The committee obtained the records after a years-long fight and voted 24-16 on Tuesday to make them public.

A Trump spokesman said the release of the documents was politically motivated.

“If this injustice can happen to President Trump, it can happen to all Americans without cause,” Trump Organisation spokesman Steven Cheung said on Wednesday.

Democrats on the panel said their review found that tax authorities did not properly scrutinise Trump’s complex tax returns to ensure accuracy.

Former US president Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump paid some taxes and reported major losses while residing in the White House.Credit:AP

Though the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is supposed to audit presidents’ tax returns each year, it did not do so until Democrats pressed for action in 2019.

The IRS assigned only one agent to the audit most of the time, the panel found, and did not examine some of the deductions claimed by Trump.

The IRS declined to comment.

Prior to taking office, Trump reported heavy losses for many years from his business to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in income, according to media reports and trial testimony about his finances.

The documents released by the committee showed that pattern continued during his time in the White House.

During that time Trump and his wife were liable for self-employment and household employment taxes. As a result, they paid a total of $US3 million in taxes over those four years.

But deductions enabled them to minimise their income tax liability in several years.

In 2017, Trump and his wife reported adjusted gross income of negative $12.9 million, leading to a net income tax of $750, the records showed.

They reported adjusted gross income of $US24.3 million in 2018 and paid a net tax of $US1 million, while in 2019 they reported $US4.4 million of income in 2019 and paid $US134,000 in taxes.

In 2020, they reported a loss of $US4.8 million and paid no net income tax.

Reuters

Most Viewed in World

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article