[ad_1]
(CNN Business) –– An explosive investigation of the newspaper The New York Times It offers the most conclusive proof that US President Donald Trump’s business empire is not nearly as successful as he claims.
For years, Trump has singled out his business acumen as a defining trait. Which, he says, gave him an edge over other people in the presidential race.
“I did a lot of good business, and I did it early and young. And now I’m building all over the world and I love what I do, ”Trump said in June 2015. This was the moment he announced his presidential candidacy. «I am very proud of my success. I really am.
The image of Trump as a businessman, in question
But that image has been complicated since the former host of “The Apprentice” was catapulted into the center of the political spotlight. News reports have drawn attention to the history of bankruptcies in Trump’s businesses. Also, regarding the enormous role his father played in his financial success.
This Sunday, the New York Times published the deepest dive ever made about the finances of the president of the United States. The report cited detailed tax records that, according to the newspaper, “portray a businessman who receives hundreds of millions of dollars a year, but still accumulates chronic losses.”
“The tax returns of Mr. Trump and hundreds of his businesses reveal gaps, but also show the wizardry, of the self-made billionaire image perfected through ‘The Apprentice,'” the Times concluded. “They show that he was much more successful playing a business tycoon than he was one in real life.”
Trump denied the story published by The New York Times on Sunday. In that sense, he affirmed that he pays “a lot” in federal income taxes. “I pay a lot, and I pay a lot in state income taxes,” he said. A lawyer for the Trump Organization, which runs the president’s family businesses, told the Times that “most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate.”
These are the keys to what the investigation revealed The New York Times:
Trump paid little or no federal income taxes for years
According to the newspaper, Trump did not pay federal income taxes in 11 of the 18 years the newspaper analyzed. Additionally, in each of his first two years as president, 2016 and 2017, he only paid $ 750 in this type of tax. The report also showed in part how this could happen. Specifically, it’s because of the way their companies reported their earnings.
“Throughout his career, Mr. Trump’s business losses have often accumulated in sums greater than could be used to reduce taxes on other income in a single year,” he reported. The New York Times. “But the tax code offers an alternative solution: with some restrictions, business owners can carry over excess losses to reduce taxes in future years.”
Many of Trump’s companies spend huge amounts of cash
According to the research, while some of Trump’s companies are performing well and profitable, others are not. Some of its best-known companies “report losses in the millions (of dollars), if not tens of millions of dollars year after year,” according to the newspaper. That includes its famous golf courses, which reportedly have racked up at least $ 315 million in losses over the past two decades.
For example, Trump’s golf resorts in Turnberry and Aberdeen in Scotland lost more than € 11.8 million ($ 15.2 million) in 2018, company records show. And they also posted losses the year before. Britain’s RMT union said on Friday that Trump now plans to lay off up to 80 workers at Turnberry, or about 17% of its workforce. In addition to reducing wages and working hours, despite receiving payroll subsidies from the UK government during the pandemic.
Trump Turnberry did not respond to a request for comment from CNN on RMT’s claims.
Trump Tower in New York is big business
The historic skyscraper, located on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, “reliably brought in more than $ 20 million a year in profit,” according to the Times. This would imply “a total of 336.3 million since 2000,” the newspaper noted. Trump’s involvement in two office towers in New York and San Francisco also works. Exactly, it has generated 176.5 million dollars by the end of 2018, the publication reported.
Trump’s hotel in Washington generates losses
The Trump International Hotel in Washington city has lost more than $ 55 million since it opened four years ago, reported the Times. The property reportedly requested a relief in rent payments earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The property has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, amid allegations that Trump was unfairly profiting from his presidency.
Selling your name has been very profitable
Trump is known as a master of brands and franchises. Their products include famous Trump steaks and water bottles, among other items. The New York Times found his personal branding strategy to be “the most successful part of Trump’s business.” In fact, the total profit for this reason amounts to 427.4 million dollars between 2004 and 2018.
That’s largely thanks to ‘The Apprentice’
A significant portion of that money came from “The Apprentice.” Before entering politics, Trump hosted 14 seasons of the hit NBC reality show. There the contestants were fighting for a job to work with Trump. The series boosted the profile of the now president, while boosting his net income by $ 197.3 million, according to the Times.
Trump made money from foreign businesses after winning the presidency
“When he took office, Mr. Trump said he would not seek new business abroad as president,” reported the Times. “Still, in her first two years in the White House, her overseas income was $ 73 million.”
Trump had broad business interests abroad before he was president. Precisely, this raised questions about potential conflicts of interest. For 2016, for example, its financial disclosures included more than 140 companies doing business in at least 25 countries around the world, according to a CNN review.
Part of its income comes from ambiguous “consulting fees”
The analysis of The New York Times on Trump’s financial records revealed a pattern of how he was paid on various projects. “Between 2010 and 2018, Mr. Trump recorded some $ 26 million in unexplained ‘consulting fees’ as a business expense on almost all of his projects,” according to the newspaper. The report added that the president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, also appeared to have “received” honoraria under this designation. Even despite working as an employee of the Trump Organization.
“Mrs. Trump had been a CEO of Trump’s companies who earned and paid consulting fees for both projects. Which means that she appears to have been treated as a consultant on the same hotel deals that she helped manage as part of her job at her father’s business, Times.
The Trump Organization encompasses “more than 500 entities”
The investigation revealed the extent of the family business, which includes hundreds of businesses. According to the report, these are controlled almost entirely by the president. Although some of these companies were not profitable, “they still had a financial purpose: to lower your tax bill,” according to the newspaper. For example, “the reported losses from operating businesses were so great that they often wiped out license revenue entirely. Which left the organization arguing that it does not earn money and therefore does not owe taxes, ”the newspaper reported.
Hanna Ziady contributed reporting.
