A string of bombastic revelations today unveiled embarrassing details about Donald Trump’s taxes, further damaging the embattled former president.
Trump claimed for years that he couldn’t release his taxes because they were being audited, but the summary released by the House Ways and Means Committee shows there was no such audit at the time.
Trump’s tax returns for 2015-2020 also show that his sprawling business empire paid paltry taxes and reported negative earnings in the tens of millions.
The filings, released late Tuesday by the Democrat-led House Ways and Means after years of litigation that went all the way to the Supreme Court, revealed Trump’s income and alleged tax liability changed dramatically during his four years in the White House.
A report also revealed that the IRS had begun a two-year audit of Trump’s tax returns — despite a long-standing policy of auditing presidents every year. That review only began in April 2019, the same day the committee began searching for Trump’s taxes, and only covered his 2015 filings. Six months later, in September, the agency began reviewing the filings the year 2016.
In 2015, Trump reported earning more than $50 million in income from capital gains, interest, dividends, and other income. But he reported $85 million in losses, giving him negative income of $31 million
Staffers of the US House Ways and Means Committee move boxes of documents after a committee meeting to discuss former President Donald Trump’s tax returns on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States, December 20
But Trump famously refused to file his tax returns in 2016 because he claimed he was under constant scrutiny (even if he were, it wouldn’t prevent him from releasing his tax returns by law).
In February 2016, he promised to free his taxes during a debate.
“I’ll definitely give my return,” Trump said, “but I’ll be under review for two or three years now, so obviously I can’t do it until the review is over.”
But these audits and the agency did not begin examining his records of earnings made during the presidency until after he left office.
Democrats release report on Trump’s taxes: the highlights
- 2015: Trump and Melania report negative income of $31 million on taxable income of $0. Hit with alternative minimum tax of $641,931
- 2016: Negative income of $31.2 million, taxable income $0. Pay an alternative minimum tax of $750
- 2017: Negative income $12.8 million, $0 taxable income. Pay an alternative minimum tax of $750
- 2018: In the black – total income $24.4 million, taxable income $22.9 million. Pay $999,466 in federal income tax
- 2019: Total income $4.4 million, $2.97 in taxable income. Pay $133,445 in taxes
- 2020: Negative income $4.7 million, $0 in taxable income. Trumps are asking for a $5.5 million refund
A Trump spokesman said the release of the documents was politically motivated.
“If this injustice can befall President Trump, it can befall all Americans without cause,” Trump Organization spokesman Steven Cheung told Portal on Wednesday.
Democrats obtained Trump’s 2015-2020 tax returns via court order weeks ago and voted to release the documents Tuesday night, marking the culmination of years of back-and-forth as Trump attempted to hide the mysterious documents.
They asked the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), a bipartisan bureau of tax attorneys and economists, to review the documents and released the JCT findings along with their own report on the IRS review system.
The former president was making tens of millions annually during that time, but was able to slim down his tax bill by carrying over precipitous business losses from the years.
Trump donated his salary as president, so all of his earnings came from other business ventures.
From 2015 to 2016, Trump carried over large losses from years to pay little, relatively little, in federal income taxes.
In 2015, Trump reported earning more than $50 million in income from capital gains, interest, dividends, and other income. But he reported $85 million in losses, giving him negative income of $31 million.
That year he was hit with an alternative minimum tax — a provision in the tax code designed to prevent the wealthy from zeroing their tax bills — and had to pay $641,000.
Trump reported negative income for the next two years — paying just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 — before his fortunes turned around in 2018.
Trump’s capital gains of $22 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019 from asset sales left him with a sizable tax bill.
He reported an adjusted gross income of nearly $24.3 million in 2018 and paid nearly a million in taxes. The following year, he was also in the black, reporting income of $4.4 million and paying $133,445 in taxes.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) speak after the committee submitted their report, including tax filings, voted
The JCT report also identifies several areas the committee plans to investigate further, such as a $506,000 charitable donation in 2020 and “party loans” to Trump’s children, Ivanka, Don. Jr. and Eric, these could be disguised gifts and Plan C income reports.
The committee found in a 2015 example that Trump was paid $50,000 to appear as a speaker, almost entirely offset by $46,162 in travel expenses.
“Related party audits often find that personal expenses are incorrectly deducted as travel expenses,” the report says.