For what seems to be the hundredth time since becoming president, there has been another revelation about President Trump Sunday: The New York Times has found out that the President had paid zero dollars in federal income tax in 10 out of 15 years beginning in 2015, and that in two of the years in which he did pay, he paid just $750 in 2016 and 2017. Could this be the “October surprise” that may result in Trump losing the election this November, just as Hillary Clinton’s email allegations brought about her downfall in 2016?
As the first president (and presidential candidate) to not have publicized his income tax returns since Jimmy Carter popularized it back in the ’70s (see Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren‘s tax returns), the President’s taxes have always been a mystery to the general public. Though the Supreme Court had required him to hand the documents over to a New York investigator, Trump has not publicized his tax returns, only willing to do so after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stops auditing his tax filings, which he claims to “treat me badly.” However, there is nothing stopping him from releasing the returns despite being under audit.
The President has denied the story, claiming that he pays “a lot” and scoffing off the story as “fake news.” According to The Times, though, the tax returns were provided by sources “with legal access to it,” which could suggest an attorney, lawyer, or other such figure leaked the filings to the paper.
The story from The Times also showed that he used $427 million from his showing in The Apprentice to fund his golf courses and other businesses, which Trump was injecting more money into than was taking out. The story also describes how many of his businesses were struggling to stay afloat and reporting millions in losses, despite his claims otherwise.
A previous investigation from The Times in 2018 also suggested that Trump helped his family dodge taxes and commit instances of fraud in the 1990s that allowed him to get rich quickly.
In order to be able to reduce the amount of payable tax, Trump wrote off many costs as business expenses. For instance, a haircut was said to have cost $70,000. At another point, hundreds of thousands of dollars were made payable to his daughter Ivanka as a consultant to the Trump Organization.
In 2016 and 2017 (the latest tax filings from The Times), the President paid just $750 in federal tax, far below what most people living under the poverty line pay. The amount has caused a large number of parodies on Twitter and other media, with people describing how they paid more taxes when they were delivering pizzas in high school.
The $750 figure is also significantly less than the amount of tax he paid to other nations like the Philippines, Panama, and India, which calls his “America first” mentality into question.
The report also detailed how within the next four years, Trump will have to repay back more than $300 million in loans, obligations which he is personally responsible for. This calls into question why he chose to run for president and the conflict of interest. A reason why Trump may have chosen to run might have been to reinvigorate the Trump brand.
The new revelations come just ahead of a scheduled Tuesday presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio. This gives Joe Biden a great opportunity to put Trump on the hot seat.
Though these revelations will have little effect on die-hard Trump supporters, it will almost certainly hurt him among blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt—the group that handed Trump a win in 2016. Many single-issue voters who may have considered voting for Donald Trump may now reconsider their choice as it is likely that they have paid more taxes than the billionaire real estate mogul president.
If you believe that our current taxation system needs change, you have to opportunity to voice out by voting on November 3. Make sure to register to vote and cast your ballot early to ensure it is counted.
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