Tax Data released on Tuesday by the United State House Committee has shown that the former president, Donald J. Trump paid $1.1 million in federal income taxes during his first three years as president, but paid no taxes as his income shrank and losses mounted again in 2020, New York Times reports.
The data, which covers Trump's federal tax returns from 2015 to the end of his presidency, reveals that he suffered the large business losses that had defined much of his career early in his presidency and paid almost no income tax. However, in 2018, he reported an adjusted gross income of $24.3 million and paid nearly $1 million in federal taxes.
According to Trump's tax returns, he reported $4.4 million in income and paid $133,445 in taxes the following year, putting him in the black. However, as the nation struggled with the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, its financial situation took a turn for the worse: Mr. Trump reported a $4.8 million loss and paid no income tax.
The new information on Trump's taxes came from two reports released late Tuesday by the House Ways and Means Committee, which had fought a legal battle with the Internal Revenue Service that went all the way to the Supreme Court to obtain the records. The summaries of the committee's findings are included in the reports, but not the raw tax returns, which are expected to be released in the coming days.
The report depicted him as a businessman who earned hundreds of millions of dollars per year but had chronic losses that he aggressively used to avoid paying taxes. However, while The Times' analysis of personal income tax data only covered his first year in office, 2017, the information released Tuesday covers his entire presidency.
It was earlier reported that Mr. Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in his first year as president and reported $12.9 million in losses, continuing a long pattern of reporting losses and paying little or no taxes. According to newly released data, his sudden surge in income in 2018 was primarily due to him selling real estate or investments for a $22 million profit. He also appears to have exhausted the business losses he carried forward year after year to reduce his taxable income. According to the reports, the exact source of the income gain is unknown.
By 2020, however, Mr. Trump had returned to reporting casualties. In fact, despite the capital gains that propelled his bottom line in 2018, the aggregate of his core businesses — primarily real estate, golf courses, and hotels — continued to report losses each year, totaling $60 million during his presidency. He was able to recover $5.47 million for making millions of dollars in estimated tax payments that he ended up not owing.
Tuesday’s report also raises questions about some of Mr Trump’s business practices, and the committee has asked that the IRS investigate some of them further. Below are his charitable contributions.
Tax records previously obtained by The Times show Mr Trump has made significant charitable donations over the years, but the vast majority of these have come in the form of land donations, often after he has exhausted his development efforts.
However, by 2020, Mr. Trump had returned to reporting casualties. In fact, despite the capital gains that boosted his bottom line in 2018, his core businesses — primarily real estate, golf courses, and hotels — continued to lose money year after year, totaling $60 million during his presidency. He was able to recoup $5.47 million for making millions of dollars in estimated tax payments that he did not have to make.
The report on Tuesday also raises concerns about some of Mr Trump's business practices, and the committee has requested that the IRS look into some of them further. His charitable contributions are listed below.
Tax records previously obtained by The Times show Mr Trump has made significant charitable donations over the years, but the vast majority of these have come in the form of land donations, often after he has exhausted his development efforts.
The new tax data showed Mr Trump made cash donations to charity while he was in the White House, which the House committee said warrants further investigation.
“We would have inquired whether the large cash deposits were supported by the required evidence,” the report said.
The Times’ findings were cited several times in the report and helped set the direction of the committee’s investigation.
For example, Mr. Trump owns an estate called Seven Springs in Westchester County, NY. For years it was classified as a private residence. Tax records obtained by The Times in 2020 showed Mr. Trump reclassified the property as an investment property in 2014.
Since then, he has written off $2.2 million in property taxes as business expenses — even though the law allows individuals to write off just $10,000 in property taxes a year.
On Tuesday, the committee announced that the IRS was investigating this tax manoeuvre.