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$ 70,000 for his hairstyle, next to nothing for the tax office: A controversial report prompts Donald Trump to explain, less than 48 hours before the first television debate against Joe Biden.
He paid “a lot of taxes”: the president of the United States, Donald Trump, dismissed the accusations against him as “fake news.”
Photo: Evan Gucci (AP)
It is not that discussion material was still lacking in this electoral campaign, on the contrary. And now another topic has been added, less than 48 hours before the first television debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The New York Times put it on the table, with a lot of researchwhich he posted on Sunday night. In it, the newspaper reports on Trump’s tax files that his reporters have taken. They show that the President of the United States is extremely clever and unscrupulous in avoiding taxes, or that he is a rather unsuccessful businessman.
Specifically, Trump is said to have paid just $ 750 in federal income taxes in 2016 when he first ran for president. In his first year as president, his tax bill was again just $ 750. Previously, the former billion-dollar real estate entrepreneur had not paid federal income taxes in 10 of 15 years. For comparison: According to the AP news agency, the average American taxpayer transferred about $ 12,200 to tax authorities in 2017, 16 times more than Trump.
New pressure before the debate
These tax bills arose because Trump claimed large losses and write-offs in various business areas. According to the New York Times, many of Trump’s companies are losing money, including several of his golf resorts, which the president markets under his name. Additionally, Trump is said to have received a $ 73 million tax credit, which is now the subject of a legal dispute with the IRS. The cancellations also include the consulting fees Trump claimed for his daughter Ivanka. Additionally, Trump is said to have deducted the $ 70,000 costs for his hairstyle during the television show “The Apprentice.”
The detailed “New York Times” report with many accurate figures could also increase political pressure on Trump to provide the public with information about his finances. The documents show, among other things, that he is personally liable for debts of $ 421 million, of which more than $ 300 million would expire in the next four years, the newspaper wrote.
“Because I am smart”
In its report, the New York Times writes that it received the tax documents from sources that had legal access to them. The newspaper is about to ensure transparency when publishing, according to editor-in-chief Dean Baquet.
At a news conference Sunday night, the president described the report as “fake news.” He paid “a lot” of taxes, including to the state of New York. Trump also reiterated his claim that he could not release his records because they were still being reviewed by the IRS. The IRS itself emphasizes that ongoing auditing does not get in the way of publications.
Trump’s tax returns had already been the subject of controversy during the election campaign four years ago. At that time, in a television debate with his opponent Hillary Clinton, the Republican did not deny that he had temporarily not paid income tax: “Because I’m smart,” as he said at the time. The figures published by the “New York Times” list losses that could not only be explained by the minimization of taxes, but also by the bad economic activity.
Democrats respond immediately
Predictably, the New York Times article caused quite a stir in Washington. Democrats seized it as an opportunity to criticize Trump and renewed their demand for clarity on Trump’s tax situation. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was elected to the House of Representatives for Democrats in 2018, wrote that she paid thousands of dollars in income taxes as a bartender, while Trump only paid $ 750. “He has done less to fund our community than waitresses and undocumented immigrants. ” Trump is “a walking fraud.”
However, the tax documents also renewed the focus on potential conflicts of interest for the president. Even after his election, he never really parted ways with his family business. According to the New York Times, Trump received $ 73 million in foreign revenue in the first two years of his term. Most of it came from its golf resorts in Scotland and Ireland, but it also included millions of dollars from licensing deals in the Philippines and Turkey. There are no new indications in the documents about possible trade relations between Trump and Russian circles, about which there is repeated speculation.
Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign team was clearly pleased with the article. It only took a few hours for the stickers to be available from the Biden web store. It says, “I paid more income taxes than Donald Trump.”
