President Donald Trump paid just $ 750 in federal taxes in 2016, the year he won the presidential election, and another $ 750 in the following year, 2017, the first he spent in full in the White House, an investigation revealed. from The New York Times.
[The 10 Most Shocking Revelations About Trump And His Business From His Tax Returns]
The data accessed by this outlet reflects two decades of information on Trump's taxes.
On Monday night, the newspaper (which warned that continue to
publish more information on the subject) published another article based on tax records Trump detailing how he won
197 million dollars directly from its
reality show
"The Apprentice"
(The Apprentice), which aired on NBC for 16 years, from 2004 to 2017, and
another $ 230 million from the fame the show created for him.
This saved him from a financial crisis, as he had accumulated losses for years
(more than
$ 350 million at the end of 2002).
The story also details how he used this fame to rebuild his brand and reputation as a business mogul.
Trump's tax filing scandal will cause controversy during debate with Biden
Sept.
29, 202001: 35
The show had
high ratings and made a lot of advertising money.
Everyone wanted to advertise: Double Stuf Oreos paid $ 500,000;
Domino's Pizza, another half a million;
a brand of detergent, about $ 850,000.
In the two years following the show's debut, according to his tax records, he raised $ 5.2 million from 11 ad campaigns and different appearances, all fueled by his growing popularity as a businessman on television.
Trump knew the success of the show would benefit him:
"Even if it doesn't get ratings, it will still be great for my brand," he
assured an NBC executive in 2002, according to the Times.
Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, called the story "fake news" and "another politically motivated hit full of inaccurate smears" that appeared "before a presidential debate."
[Trump's tax disclosures threaten to damage his support among workers and bolster Biden]
The tax documents cover more than two decades, including part of his time as president, but do not include his 2018 and 2019 statements.
Noticias Telemundo has not been able to verify any of the documents reported by the Times.
“The fake media, as well as the 2016 elections, are exposing my taxes and all kinds of nonsense with information obtained illegally and only with malicious intent.
I paid many millions of dollars in taxes but I was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation and tax credits, ”Trump tweeted Monday.
"The IRS does not treat me well, it treats me very, very bad," he said Sunday, referring to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS, in English), after the publication of the investigation.
"I pay a lot," he insisted, referring to state taxes.
Trump has been the
first president in the country's recent history to break with the tradition of publishing his tax documents.
Trump has not paid taxes on his income in 10 of the past 15 years
, despite running a seemingly multibillion dollar corporation.
The reason it has not done so is because it has reported many more losses than gains, according to the aforementioned outlet.
Trump is facing
a decade-long IRS audit on a $ 72.9 million tax refund
he received that could end up costing him more than $ 100 million.
The Times also reported that Trump has
more than $ 300 million in loans maturing in the next few years
and that he is personally responsible for repaying.
In addition to the news about Trump's annual payments, the newspaper found that many of his best-known businesses, including his golf courses, had reported huge losses and that, while he was fighting an uphill battle for re-election, his finances were in a tight spot. Especially complicated situation due to the "hundreds of millions of dollars in debt that will expire and that he has personally guaranteed."
Republicans have been silent on the report but Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, called for an investigation into how the Times obtained the president's personal financial documents.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted an emoji asking his followers to raise their hands "if they paid more in federal taxes than the president."
The presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Joe Biden posted a short video on Twitter telling what average workers typically pay in income taxes based on 2019 data: an elementary school teacher ($ 7,239), a firefighter ( $ 5,283), a construction manager ($ 16,447) and a registered nurse ($ 10,216), contrasting those numbers with Trump's reported tax payment.
The report came at an especially precarious time for Trump.
The Republican campaign is having trouble coping with criticism of the president's handling of the pandemic.
In addition, the publication offers Biden an easy line to attack him in the
debate on Tuesday.
And since voting by mail is already open in some states and there is only a month left until elections, Trump could run out of time to turn his campaign around.
With information from The New York Times, NBC News and AP.