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Trump erupts at bombshell report revealing he pays almost no federal income tax

President lashes out after report says he has a $421 million pile of debt — much of which will be reportedly due due over the next four years

Chris Riotta
New York
Monday 28 September 2020 17:11 BST
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Donald Trump has spoken out after the New York Times published a bombshell report that said the president only paid $750 in taxes the year he assumed the White House, claiming he may eventually release “impressive” financial statements that contradict the newspaper’s findings.

“The Fake News Media, just like Election time 2016, is bringing up my Taxes & all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information & only bad intent,” the president claimed in a series of tweets on Monday morning. “I paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits.”

“Also, if you look at the extraordinary assets owned by me, which the Fake News hasn’t, I am extremely under leveraged - I have very little debt compared to the value of assets,” he added. “Much of this information is already on file, but I have long said that I may release Financial Statements, from  the time I announced I was going to run for President,  showing all properties, assets and debts.”

“It is a very IMPRESSIVE Statement,” Mr Trump continued, “and also shows that I am the only President on record to give up my yearly $400,000 plus Presidential Salary!”

The president’s tweets come after the New York Times reported how he owes a massive debt of nearly $421 million, much of which will become due over the next four years.

The newspaper studied 18 years of tax documents to paint a picture of Mr Trump that was far different than the one he sold to voters along the campaign trail in 2016.

He reportedly took massive refunds of more than $70 million to pocket the vast majority of the $95 million he paid in taxes to the federal governments during the years reviewed in the New York Times story.

Mr Trump immediately took to the White House podium on Sunday night, describing the report as “totally fake news” during a press briefing.

However, the president’s tweets declined to deny any of the specific details reported in the story, including claims he paid just $750 in taxes the year he won the election.

Mr Trump’s latest attacks against the New York Times report came amid a flurry of other tweets the president posted attacking his opponent former Vice President Joe Biden with baseless claims that he was using performance-enhancing drugs and other unfounded conspiracies surrounding mail-in voting. 

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