Washington (AP) – Donald Trump’s published tax returns reveal new details about the former US President’s finances. Hence, Trump had a bank account in China during his tenure, as several US media outlets, including CNN, have reported after reviewing thousands of pages of tax documents.
Republicans have publicly denied this. Trump also spent nothing on charity in 2020, his final year in office – despite promises otherwise. And: Documents generally show that Trump paid little or no federal income taxes for several years, even though he always bragged about his wealth.
After years of legal wrangling, the US House Finance Committee released several thousand pages of Trump’s tax documents from 2015 to 2020 on Friday. For years, Republicans have used legal means to refuse to release their tax returns to the committee – and finally failed in November before the US Supreme Court.
Even before the original’s wide publication, the committee had published key figures from Trump’s six-year tax returns from 2015 to 2020 — that is, from the time before and throughout his term as president. Therefore, in 2016, the year of his election, and in 2017, his first year in the White House, Trump paid only $750 (nearly €700) in federal income taxes and claimed high losses. In 2018 he reported millions in profits and paid almost a million dollars in income taxes, in 2019 his taxes were around 133,000 dollars. In his final year in office, 2020, Trump paid no federal income taxes at all.
US media investigations and disclosures
The New York Times had reported midway through the election campaign before the 2020 presidential election that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. This was made possible by write-offs and credit, partly due to high losses. Trump denied this at the time, claiming he was paid “millions”.
A team of researchers from US media combed through several thousand pages of the original documents on Friday to find more details. CNN and others report that Trump among other things reported bank accounts in China between 2015 and 2017. In a televised debate during the 2020 presidential campaign, Trump stated that accounts in China had been closed in 2015.
CNN also reported that in filings, Trump said he paid far more in taxes overseas than he did at home in circa 2017 — nearly $1 million in taxes. In his six-year tax return, Trump lists business income, taxes, expenses or other financial items in various countries: including Azerbaijan, Panama, Canada, India, Qatar, South Korea, United Kingdom, China, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates, Philippines , Georgia, Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Ireland, and Turkey.
The New York Times and others also reported that Trump spent nothing to charity in 2020 – going against his word. Trump has pledged to donate his $400,000 annual presidential salary. Tax documents show donations of $500,000 each for 2018 and 2019, $1.9 million for 2017 and nothing for 2020, he said.
Trump wants to prevent publication
It is a bitter setback for Trump that his tax returns are now openly dissected. That acquittal comes as he seeks re-election for the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election.
Contrary to common practice in the United States, real estate entrepreneurs do not post their tax returns either as a presidential candidate or after moving into the White House. Therefore, critics suspect that Trump is hiding something – also because he is using all legal means to prevent the disclosure of the document.
The Treasury Committee in the House of Representatives has been trying for years to get hold of the tax documents. During the Trump administration, the Treasury initially got in the way. Only in the administration of his Democratic successor Joe Biden last year did the Treasury Department finally instruct the IRS to submit the documents to the committee.
Trump defended himself in court and tried various cases until his only option was to go to the Supreme Court, where he finally failed in November. It was a last-minute success for the committee: Trump’s Republican Party will take control of the House of Representatives next week. Therefore, democratically led bodies have little time to do anything about the problem.
Trump reacted angrily to the publication and threatened revenge. “Radical left Democrats” turn everything into weapons, but this could get to them, he warned in an affidavit – perhaps with a view to changing power relations.
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