Donald Trump may have avoided paying taxes for EIGHTEEN YEARS after declaring shocking £706m loss in his 1995 income tax returns
Republican candidate may have used lucrative tax benefits after disastrous financial deals of the early 1990s
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Donald Trump may have avoided paying any income tax for up to EIGHTEEN YEARS, according to a new report.
The New York Times obtained the Republican nominee’s 1995 tax records which show he declared a whopping £706 million loss that year.
The document also reveals that the brash billionaire used lucrative tax breaks from his disastrous financial deals in the early 1990s which included his ill-judged casino business in Atlantic City and his failed airline.
Tax experts hired by the news outlet say the tax benefits would have enabled Trump to use his colossal loss to cancel out the equivalent amount of taxable income over an 18 year period.
And while the property magnate ‘s taxable income in the years following 1995 is not known, the report says the loss would have been large enough to wipe out more than £38 million a year in tax over 18 years.
Firebrand Trump is the first Presidential candidate since 1972 to not release his tax records.
His campaign has slammed NYT report, claiming the tax document was obtained illegally.
A statement read: "Mr Trump is a highly-skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required.
"That being said, Mr Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions."
Trump has insisted he will not release his tax records because he is currently under a federal audit.
In the recent televised debate, Trump proclaimed he was "smart' for previously not paying any federal income tax.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has repeatedly questioned her rival’s decision to not fully disclose his financial records.
Her press secretary Brian Fallon responded to the NYT report on Twitter, saying: "BOMBSHELL: Trump's returns show just how lousy a businessman he is AND how long he may have avoided paying any taxes."
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