Congress is opening up former president Donald Trump’s wallet, finally. For years, Trump has hidden his tax returns from the public, breaking precedence with every other president.
Despite years of resistance, Trump’s income, deductions, and taxes disclosed in his federal tax returns are going to be detailed to the public in a new report.
So how much has Trump paid — or not paid — in his taxes?
The report reveals that Trump on his federal tax returns declared negative income in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2020 and that he paid a total of $1,500 in income taxes for the years 2016 and 2017.
On their 2020 income tax returns, Trump and his wife Melania paid no federal income taxes and claimed a refund of $5.47 million, according to the report by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted Tuesday to release six years of his tax returns to the public. The returns will provide detail on some of his tax payments and financial obligations.
The tax returns provide new details on Trump’s personal finances that he has tried to block for years.
The release of records comes as Trump seeks his third run for the White House. It also comes as the former president is entangled in a number of separate investigations into both himself and his businesses.
The report by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation was posted online shortly after the House Ways and Means Committee voted to make public redacted versions of Trump’s full income tax returns, and those of eight related business entities for the tax years 2015 through 2020.
In addition, the committee also released a separate report that said the IRS failed to properly audit Trump during his presidency and included recommendations for Congress to codify a mandatory audit program.
The release of his taxes comes after a yearslong feud between Trump and lawmakers over the tax returns. The issue made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Trump expected the top court, on which three of the nine judges were appointed by him, to side with him.
But the Supreme Court ruled against Trump, paving the way for the House committee to gain access to the tax returns after it denied Trump’s emergency application.
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