A cornerstone of Trump’s attempted defense against scrutiny of the six years of his personal tax returns publicly released on Friday after a House committee handling tax policy voted in favor of doing so is apparently that his company buildings are aesthetically pleasing — or something, which is debatable.
The documents show Trump paid nothing in personal income taxes to federal authorities for 2020, the last full year of his presidential term. The low tax bills in that year and 2017 were connected to huge losses he claimed. In 2017, that total reached $45 million, derived in what is apparently at least large part from losses originating in prior years that he could carry over, getting the tax benefits later. Other points of concern in the documents include large charitable donations he claimed he made in cash for which it’s unclear there is substantiating evidence.
A statement from Trump was posted on Twitter by his spokesperson Liz Harrington on Friday morning as information from his returns circulated. “The Democrats should have never done it, the Supreme Court should have never approved it, and it’s going to lead to horrible things for so many people,” he said in comments that sounded oddly close to a threat. “The great USA divide will now grow far worse. The radical, left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street! The “Trump” tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises.”
It’s really not that intense, though. In recent decades, presidential contenders already regularly released their personal tax information, so what exactly would that supposedly horrible precedent that’s been set actually be? Forcing candidates for the White House to do something they’re already doing? As elsewhere, Trump’s supposedly existential concerns might just deflect from his personal worries. After he left office, the IRS informed the Trump team of newly established audits of his tax filings for 2017 and 2018. The agency is also continuing its own look at a large deduction Trump claimed after ostensibly donating a portion of a property in Westchester County, New York, for conservation. Some have been concerned that the claimed valuation of the donation, which was set to provide the now former president with tax benefits, was overstated, and the IRS reportedly met with appraisers just in recent months.
