documents published
Account in China, hardly any payments to the tax authorities, more lies: What Trump’s tax documents reveal
More appearances than reality? The released tax documents do not reflect well on ex-US President Donald Trump (archive image)
© Patrick Semansky/AP/DPA
Donald Trump’s published tax documents are constantly revealing new details of his financial conduct – and many other lies from the ex-US President.
Donald Trump’s released tax returns reveal new details about the ex-US President’s finances. According to several US media, Trump had a bank account in China during his tenure including the broadcaster CNN, reported after reviewing thousands of pages of tax documents. The Republican had publicly denied this. Trump also did not spend anything on charity in 2020, the last year of his term in office – despite promises to the contrary. And: The documents generally show that Trump paid little or no federal income tax for several years, although he always boasted about his wealth.
Insights into Donald Trump’s finances
After years of legal wrangling, the Treasury Committee of the US House of Representatives released several thousand pages of Trump’s tax documents from 2015 to 2020 on Friday. The Republican had used legal means to refuse to release his tax returns to the committee for years – and finally failed in November before the US Supreme Court.
Use by ex-US President
Blue lights and protest – impressions of the raid on Donald Trump
Even before the publication of the extensive original documents the committee released key figures from Trump’s tax returns for the six years from 2015 to 2020 – i.e. from the time shortly before and throughout his term as President. Accordingly, in 2016, the year of his election, and in 2017, his first year in the White House, Trump paid only $750 (almost €700) in federal income tax and claimed high losses. In 2018 he reported millions in profits and paid almost one million dollars in income tax, in 2019 his tax was around 133,000 dollars. In the last year of office, 2020, Trump paid no federal income tax at all.
The “New York Times” had already reported in the middle of the election campaign before the 2020 presidential electionthat Trump only paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. This was made possible by write-offs and credits, among other things because of high losses. Trump denied that at the time, claiming he paid “millions.”
Thousands of pages of original documents
Research teams from US media combed through on Friday several thousand pages of original documentsto find more details. CNN and others reported that Trump had reported a bank account in China for the years 2015 to 2017, among other things. In a television debate during the 2020 presidential election campaign, Trump stated that the account in China had already been closed in 2015.
CNN also reported that Trump’s filings indicated that around 2017 he paid far more taxes abroad than he did at home — nearly $1 million in levies. In the tax returns for the six years, Trump listed business income, taxes, expenses or other financial items in various countries: including Azerbaijan, Panama, Canada, India, Qatar, South Korea, Great Britain, China, the Dominican Republic, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Georgia, Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Ireland and Turkey.
The New York Times and others also reported, Trump did not spend anything on charity in 2020 – contrary to his promises. Trump had promised to donate his annual presidential salary of $400,000. The tax documents indicated donations of $500,000 each for 2018 and 2019, $1.9 million for 2017 and nothing for 2020, it said.
Setback for Donald Trump
It is a bitter setback for Trump that his tax returns are now being publicly dissected. The release comes as he is running to run again for the Republicans in the 2024 presidential election.
Contrary to customary practice in the United States, the real estate entrepreneur had not made his tax returns public either as a presidential candidate or after moving into the White House. Critics therefore suspected that Trump had something to hide – also because he used all legal means to resist the disclosure of the documents.
The Treasury Committee in the House of Representatives had been trying for years to get hold of the tax documents. During Trump’s administration, the Treasury Department initially stood in the way. It was only in the government of his Democratic successor Joe Biden last year that the Treasury Department finally instructed the IRS to hand over the documents to the committee.
Trump defended himself in court and tried various instances until his only option was to go to the Supreme Court, where he ultimately failed in November. It was a last-minute success for the committee: Trump’s Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives next week. The democratically led body therefore had little time to do something about the matter.
Trump reacted furiously to the publication and threatened revenge. The “radical left democrats” turned everything into a weapon, but this could fall back on them, he warned in a written statement – probably with a view to changing power relations.