Published 11:17 IST, September 28th 2020
Trump's income tax documents leaked, $750 paid in federal taxes after US Election 2016 win
In a drastic move that could swing the upcoming US Presidential Election, The New York Times on Sunday reported accessing Donald Trump's income tax documents
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In a drastic move that could swing the upcoming US Presidential Election, The New York Times on Sunday, September 27 reported accessing US President Donald Trump's income tax documents and published a timeline of his finances. The publication claims to have Trump's tax return data extending over two decades and made public some astonishing information that could prove to be highly damaging to the US President's re-election bid.
According to the NYT, Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years, largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.
While former US Presidents have not withheld their tax information, Donald Trump is the only US President to have fought a tooth and nail battle to screen his tax filings from public scrutiny. The report further added that Trump just paid $750 in federal taxes the year he was elected (2016) and $750 again in his first year in the White House. The publication has promised more stories in the coming weeks.
Trump adopts 'fake news' rhetoric
In an editorial note before Trump's tax information articles were published, NYT Executive Editor Dean Baquet said, "We are publishing this report because we believe citizens should understand as much as possible about their leaders and representatives."
The disclosure comes just two days ahead of the first presidential debate and weeks before the decisive US Election 2020. Incidentally, Trump was speaking to the media at the White House when the NYT article was published and when asked about to comment on the same, the US President brush it aside as 'fake news' and claimed to have paid "a lot of state income tax".
Alan Garten, a Trump Organisation lawyer, is reported to have told NYT that “most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate.” In his statement, Garten added that the US president “has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015.”
(Image Credits: AP File)
04:42 IST, September 28th 2020