On Sept. 27, The New York Times published an article stating the president paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency, as well as his first year in office.
“The New York Times has obtained tax-return data extending over more than two decades for Mr. Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office,” the article said. “It does not include his personal returns for 2018 or 2019.”
The article continued to explain that Trump “paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the 15 previous years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.”
Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, replied to a letter summarizing The Times’ findings by stating that the facts appeared to be inaccurate. When Garten requested to see the documents, The Times declined, “in order to protect its sources.”
“Over the past decade, President Trump has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015,” Garten said in a statement.
The term ‘personal taxes’ could have the intent to be misconstrued, according to The Times.
“With the term ‘personal taxes,’ however, Mr. Garten appears to be conflating income taxes with other federal taxes Mr. Trump has paid — Social Security, Medicare and taxes for his household employees,” The Times said. “Mr. Garten also asserted that some of what the president owed was ‘paid with tax credits,’ a misleading characterization of credits, which reduce a business owner’s income-tax bill as a reward for various activities, like historic preservation.”
Trump labeled the claims made against him as “fake news.”
“When asked about the report during a Sunday evening news conference, Trump refused to detail what he’s paid in federal income taxes, saying simply: ‘I’ve paid a lot,’” NPR reported on Sept. 27.
