Photo: New Yotk Times
An investigation into the financial affairs of US President Donald Trump carried out by The New York Times, has revealed that he has not paid tax in 10 out of the last 15 years and that he paid only $750 in tax for the year 2016/17. More shockingly, it appears that he also received a $72.9 million tax rebate. The revelations come just one month ahead of the US presidential election on November 3rd where he will face off against Joe Biden for the presidency.
The reports also reveal that the Trump business empire has lost hundreds-of-millions of dollars over the last decade. The president had built much of his credibility in his initial presidential campaign in 2016 on his business acumen and experience.
The issue Trump now faces is that the Democratic campaign will likely either play upon allegations that he is either, a tax cheat or, that he is not a successful business person. Instead, he appears as being a failure in business who only got where he is through the actions of his billionaire father Fred Trump. Trump senior, who died in 1999, left behind over $1 billion and a huge real estate empire to his family.
Trump is the only president of the modern era to not make his tax returns public before taking office. He has up until now continued to keep them hidden. Trump has already dismissed the allegations as 'fake news' and said that he will reveal his financial affairs once the Internal Revenue Service had completed an audit. He said at a press conference:
"Totally fake news, no. Actually I paid tax. And you'll see that as soon as my tax returns – it's under audit, they've been under audit for a long time. The [Internal Revenue Service] does not treat me well … they treat me very badly. You have people in the IRS – they treat me very badly. The New York Times tried it, the same thing, they want to create a little bit of a story. They're doing anything they can. That's the least of it. The stories that I read are so fake, they're so phony."
Holding the contradictory positions that he is a successful tycoon but pays no tax may not fly with the American public. Indeed, ordinary working Americans across the political spectrum, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet, are unlikely to look favourably on a self-declared billionaire who has likely paid less tax than themselves whilst also receiving a tax rebate close to $73 million.
The New York Times also reported that Trump has spent almost $70,000 on hairstyling while he has been in office:
"Even while declaring losses, he has managed to enjoy a lavish lifestyle by taking tax deductions on what most people would consider personal expenses, including residences, aircraft and $70,000 in hairstyling for television."
This may very well be this presidential campaign's 'October surprise' an unexpected event that often appears in the later stages of a campaign and then becomes a focus of media attention and debate. It would appear likely that as Biden and Trump come face-to-face in the first presidential debate on Tuesday that the Democratic candidate will use these revelations to his advantage.
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