U.S. News

The New York Times Obtains Trump’s Tax Returns

Records Allegedly Show Years of Tax Avoidance and Millions of Dollars in Losses

Editor Tyler Bagent

9/29/2020

On Sunday, September 27th, the New York Times released an article claiming to have obtained President Trump’s Tax Returns. This marks an important stage in the fight over whether Trump has to release his taxes, one that has been raging ever since he initially launched his presidential campaign in 2015.

These revelations have shown many different instances of tax avoidance and losses, but there are a few major takeaways from what we’ve seen. The most important part of this story is that of the President’s income taxes, of which he has paid next to none of in the past two decades. In 11 of the past 18 years, President Trump paid nothing in income tax, and two of which (2016 and 2017), he paid $750 dollars. Most of this avoidance comes from devastating losses from his many businesses and investments. Before becoming President, Trump used these losses to offset the income he made from the Trump brand. His television show, ‘The Apprentice,’ helped bring in enough income to cover his losses. This allowed him to continuously keep his failing businesses without losing any money. He also spent lavishly on his personal lifestyle, using expenses on aircrafts, hairstyling, and residences as tax write-offs. He also gave thousands of dollars to his daughter Ivanka, which he labeled as “consulting fees” to limit tax payments for the Trump family. In each of his projects, he has paid large amounts of these fees, unexplainably taking up around 20% of his income.

Blowback to this story has been extreme on both sides of the aisle, being vehemently denied by Trump as “Fake News.” Allies of the President have pointed to the lack of actual documents provided by the New York Times, calling for an investigation into whether the Times committed a felony. Rep. Kevin Brady’s (R-TX-08) calls have been the loudest, saying “While many critics question the article’s accuracy, equally troubling is the prospect that a felony crime was committed by releasing the private tax return information of an individual – in this case the President’s,” continuing on to say that “to ensure every American is protected against the illegal release of their tax returns for political reasons, I am calling for an investigation of the source and to prosecute if the law was broken.” Democrats, however, have been in opposition to a potential investigation. They claim that President Trump cannot deny the report, and also call for an investigation into a leak of tax information. Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden has been quick to respond, releasing his tax returns the day before the First Presidential Debate, and has started selling stickers that say “I Paid More Taxes Than Donald Trump.” Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris has also released her tax returns in preparation for the Vice Presidential Debate on Wednesday.

This is a breaking story, and the effect on the Presidential Race is yet to be seen. Regardless, this information will surely ignite the court battle over Trump’s Tax Returns, and is sure to dominate headlines for days to come.