Trump ‘may have avoided federal taxes for two decades’

Massive losses declared by
Donald Trump in 1995 could have enabled the billionaire to legally avoid paying federal taxes for nearly two decades, it has been claimed.

The New York Times reported it had obtained the Republican nominee’s 1995 return which showed that he had accumulated losses of $916 million (£706 million) from an array of ventures in the early 1990s including an airline and his purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.

Three pages of what the paper says appeared to be take from Mr Trump’s 1995 returns were posted to one of its journalists anonymously.

According to tax experts hired by the newspaper, these losses would have enabled him to set these losses off against tax.

Offsetting just over $50 million a year would have enabled the write offs to last 18 years, under the rules which were in operation in 1995.

Mr Trump has been repeatedly challenged by Hillary Clinton to release his tax returns. He has declined to do so, saying that his affairs are being audited.

When challenged in the first presidential debate by Mrs Clinton over his boast that he had paid no federal income tax in the late 1970s, he retorted: "That makes me smart”.

His spokesman declined to comment on the documents obtained by the New York Times, nor confirm the $916 million loss.
His spokesman said:

“Mr Trump is a highly-skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required.

“That being said, Mr Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes.”

“Mr Trump knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for President and he is the only one that knows how to fix it.”