This is what Trump said in 2011 about paying taxes in the US.

NYT: Trump didn't pay income taxes for 1:52 years

(CNN) -

Donald Trump said in an interview in 2011 that even Americans who do not earn much should have to pay something in taxes to be "part of the game."

Trump made the comments in a radio interview with conservative host Sean Hannity.

In the interview, reviewed by CNN's KFile, the two discussed criticism from Occupy Wall Street protesters that the wealthy evade taxes.

"Now everyone on Occupy Wall Street keeps saying (that) the 1% - which I'm sure you're a part of - don't pay taxes," Hannity said.

«Don't you pay any tax?

I did not know, "she added.

"No, I pay taxes," Trump replied.

«I pay a lot of taxes.

I just signed a big check recently for a bunch of taxes.

I literally paid, I paid a lot of taxes and you know, look, I don't care.

I am proud to pay them.

If I owe it, I pay it, "he added.

The New York Times

revelations

The comments resurface after it was revealed that Trump did not pay federal income taxes in 10 of the 15 years starting in 2000 because he reported losing significantly more than he earned, according to an explosive report published Sunday by

According to

, “confidential records show that as of 2010 (Trump) claimed, and received, an income tax refund totaling $ 72.9 million.

This is all the federal income tax I had paid from 2005 to 2008, plus interest.

"The legitimacy of that refund is at the center of the audit battle that has been waging for a long time, out of the public eye, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS, for its acronym in English)", adds the Newspaper.

In later years, the

reports

, Trump would issue a payment to the IRS in excess of $ 1 million at the time he filed an extension in April, only to get that money back from the IRS later in the same year when he filed an extension.

The

reports that Trump was allowed to use that initial check to pay future taxes.

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 Times reported.

Trump added in Hannity's radio interview in 2011: “The amazing thing is that half the country pays nothing.

Zero.

And even if you don't earn much, you should have to pay something.

Just something to be part of the game.

Half the country is not paying anything.

Trump in 2011: I make a lot of money and pay a lot of taxes

In his 2011 book "Time to Get Dough," Trump addressed the issue.

There he mentioned that "half the United States" does not pay federal income tax as a danger from increased federal spending.

"Half the United States doesn't even pay a penny in federal income taxes," Trump wrote.

That may surprise you, but it's true.

That's one reason why increased federal spending is so dangerous: Half the country shrugs and says, 'Who cares?

It's not my money that they're spending. '

So the idea that the lower class is bearing the tax burden is absurd, because the bottom half of Americans do not pay any federal income tax, "he added.

"I don't need a thank you note from anyone," he continued.

"I make a lot of money and pay a lot of taxes," he said.

• READ: Information from

  The New York Times

  about Trump's tax evasion is a moment similar to the story of "The Emperor's New Suit"

In an email, White House spokesman Judd Deere did not address these comments.

Nonetheless, he pointed to the fact that Trump donates his presidential salary to a charity every quarter.

He said it as evidence that the president is "committed to giving back to the American people."

Trump denied the report

Trump says he has not evaded taxes 5:27

Trump denied

story

in a White House briefing on Sunday, claiming he pays "a lot" in federal income taxes.

"I pay a lot, and I pay a lot in state income taxes," he said.

Trump has claimed in the past that his tax returns would show he paid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.

He even said it in a presidential debate in 2016.

“I pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes,” he said in 2016. “As soon as my routine audit is complete, I will release my returns.

I will be very proud to do so.

They're actually pretty good, ”he added.

Donald Trump Tax