Forms made public on March 14 have revealed President Trump’s federal tax returns from 2005, finally shedding light onto a topic that has followed Trump from the campaign trail to the White House. These files can be accredited to David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist, who shared these findings with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. They found that Trump paid $38 million dollars in federal taxes off of his reported yearly income of $150 million. Claiming losses from previous years, Trump was able to save tens of millions of dollars that he would otherwise had been required to pay. After reaching out to the White House to verify this, the White House released the following statement:
“Before being elected President, Mr. Trump was one of the most successful businessmen in the world with a responsibility to his company, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required. That being said, Mr. Trump paid $38 million dollars even after taking into account large scale depreciation for construction, on an income of more than $150 million dollars, as well as paying tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes and this illegally published return proves just that. Despite this substantial income figure and tax paid, it is totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns. The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the President will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans.”
President Trump’s taxes have been a source of interest and concern since he first declared his intent to run for president. It has been an expectation in the past that a candidate’s tax returns would be made public, but Trump’s refusal prompted initial concerns that have carried over into his time in office. Trump has a history of evading tax returns by taking deductions and claiming losses from his partnerships, furthering the significance of his recent tax returns. As a result of Maddow’s report, the White House has called her “desperate for ratings”.
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