Donald Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax in 2016, the year he ran for president of the United States of America, and his first year in the White House, writes the New York Times, as reported by the BBC.
The newspaper - which claims to have obtained tax records for Trump and his companies for two decades - also says he has paid no income tax at all in 15 of the previous XNUMX years.
The records reveal "chronic losses and years of tax evasion," the text states.
Trump called the report fake news.
"I actually paid my taxes. You'll see as soon as my tax return is finished — which is under audit, it's been under audit for a long time," he told reporters after the story was published Sunday.
"The tax administration does not treat me well ... they treat me very badly," he said.
Trump has faced legal challenges over his refusal to share documents related to his wealth and businesses. He is the first president since the XNUMXs who has not made his tax returns public, although this is not required by law.
The Times said the information in its report was "provided by sources with legal access".
The report was released just days before Trump's first presidential debate with Democratic rival Joseph Biden and weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
What are the key claims?
The Times claims to have reviewed tax returns associated with Trump and companies owned by his organization since 1990, as well as his personal returns for 2016 and 2017.
It said the president paid just $750 in income taxes in 2016 and 2017, while in 15 of the previous XNUMX years he paid no income taxes at all, "largely because he reported losing far more money than he earned ".
Before becoming president, Trump was known as a famous businessman.
But the newspaper said his reports to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) "show a businessman who takes in hundreds of millions of dollars a year while racking up chronic losses that he aggressively employs to avoid paying taxes."
In a public filing, President Trump said he earned at least $434,9 million in 2018. The newspaper disputes that, saying his tax returns show the president instead went into the red, with a $47,4 million loss.
The Tramo organization joined the president in denying the allegations made in the report.
The company's legal director, Alan Garten, told The Times that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be incorrect."
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