Could Trump leave Washington for not paying taxes?
1:55
(CNN) -
President Donald Trump's tax records show that he has carried out expansive business projects in China for years and even maintains a Chinese bank account.
This was reported Tuesday by
The New York Times
, revelations that deal a blow to the president's efforts to portray Democratic candidate Joe Biden as the presidential candidate who is soft on China.
An analysis of Trump's tax records by
The New York Times
shows that the president has a previously undeclared bank account in China that was not included in his public financial statements because it is maintained under a corporate name.
Trump also has bank accounts in Great Britain and Ireland.
The Chinese account, the newspaper said, is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management.
And it paid US $ 188,561 in taxes in the country from 2013 to 2015.
While tax records do not show how much money has moved through Trump's foreign accounts, the Internal Revenue Service requires taxpayers to disclose the portions of their income that came from foreign countries.
Trump International Hotels Management reported only a few thousand dollars from China.
Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten, who declined to name the Chinese bank holding the account, told
The New York Times
in a statement that the Trump Organization "opened an account with a Chinese bank that has offices in the United States. United to Pay Local Taxes »linked to their drive to do business in the country.
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: Trump paid less taxes than an average American family, according to a report by The New York Times
Garten specifically said that the company had opened the account once an office was opened in China "to explore the potential for hotel offerings in Asia."
"Agreements, transactions or other commercial activities never materialized and, since 2015, the office has been inactive," he told the newspaper.
"Although the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose."
While Trump has tried to paint Biden as weak to China during the general election, his own financial ties to the country contrast with the former vice president, whose income tax returns and financial disclosures show no business or income from China.
The president's tax records show that he has invested at least $ 192,000 in five companies established to carry out projects in China over several years, according to
The New York Times
.
Since 2010, companies have reported at least $ 97,400 in expenses, the newspaper said.
The new details pulled from Trump's tax records are based on an earlier
New York Times report
that detailed how the president failed to pay federal income taxes in 10 of the 15 years beginning in 2000 because he reported losing significantly more than what he earned.
In both the year he won the presidency and his first year in the White House, Trump paid just $ 750 in federal income taxes,
The New York Times reported
.
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