Democrats in Congress released thousands of pages of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns on Friday, providing the most detailed picture to date of his finances over a six-year period, including his time in the White House, when he fought to keep the information private.
And in the end, the long-anticipated Democrat-run release of Trump’s taxes fell flat.
After 6 years of the insane, psychotic Left hyperventilating 24/7 about Trump's tax returns – they were released and it was a nothing burger.
I can't stop laughing – 😂
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) December 30, 2022
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Trump’s tax returns are, in truth, terrific. Now, let’s get the Pelosi, Schumer, Biden S Corp, Roberts, Garland, and all the others! pic.twitter.com/yzOkyb2PVr
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 30, 2022
The documents include individual returns from Trump and his wife, Melania, along with Trump’s business entities from 2015-2020. They show how Trump used the tax code to lower his tax obligation — something he long admitted was a loophole used by the rich.
Every time I hear Democrats whining about Trump’s taxes, I remember when Dave Chappell said this 👇#TrumpTaxReturns https://t.co/3iUJKVYK9G pic.twitter.com/K8e2P30Axz
— Misty Clance 🌹🍺🍊 (@mistclance) December 30, 2022
The disclosure marks the culmination of a yearslong legal fight that has played out everywhere from the presidential campaign to Congress and the Supreme Court after Trump rejected efforts to share details about his financial history. The records’ release comes just days before Republicans retake control of the House and weeks after Trump began another campaign for the White House.
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Trump paid $641,931 in federal income taxes in 2015, the year he began his campaign for president, according to a report released last week by Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. He paid $750 in 2016 and 2017, nearly $1 million in 2018, $133,445 in 2019, and nothing in 2020, the year he unsuccessfully sought reelection.
The documents show that Trump’s charitable donations fluctuated during his presidency but, in his final years, represented only part of his income. In 2020, Trump reported no charitable donations at all. In 2019 and 2018 he reported writing checks for about $500,000 in donations. In earlier years the numbers were higher — $1.8 million in 2017 and $1.1 million in 2016.
It remains unclear whether that included Trump’s $400,000 annual presidential salary, which he had said he would forgo and said he had donated to various federal departments.
In a statement Friday, Trump said Democrats “never should have done it,” referring to the release.
“It’s going to lead to horrible things for so many people,” he said. “The radical, left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street!”
He said the returns demonstrated “how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions’ to build his businesses.”
The returns show how Trump used tax law to minimize his liability.
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For 2020, more than 150 of Trump’s business entities listed negative qualified business income, which the IRS defines as “the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss from any qualified trade or business.” In total for that tax year, combined with nearly $9 million in carryforward loss from previous years, Trump’s qualified losses amounted to more than $58 million for the final year of his term in office.
Aspects of Trump’s finances had been shrouded in mystery since his days as an up-and-coming Manhattan real estate developer in the 1980s.
Trump, known for building skyscrapers and hosting a reality TV show before winning the White House, had previously provided some details about his holdings and income on mandatory disclosure forms.
The Associated Press contributed to this article