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Just yesterday, The New York Times published an in-depth look at a full decade of Donald Trump’s tax figures.
The information they obtained spans from 1985 to 1994, though leaked records from 1995 were also provided three years ago. As for what it shows, it’s not exactly what many Americans might expect. During the timeframe, though Trump was considered one of America’s wealthiest businessmen, the reporting reveals a bleak financial outlook.
This, of course, does not shed any light on his reported earnings or losses for the last eight years. Congress is clearly still fighting for that information.
If you thought Trump was raking in the big bucks, you may be disappointed. In the years that the tax records span, he actually lost $1.17 billion.
“Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer,” The Timers reported. Worse still, in the combined years of 1990 and 1991, his core businesses lost $517.6 million. This was more than double what other, similar high-income earners reported.
Though his book, Art of the Deal, became a best-seller, Trump’s own, personal finances plummeted. The majority of the businesses he acquired never once turned a profit.
When Trump tweeted in 2012 that “HALF of Americans don’t pay income tax…” perhaps he was talking about himself. Out of the ten years for which The Times obtained tax records, Trump did not pay any taxes for eight.
Every single year, Trump reported a negative adjusted gross income. Because of this, he was not able to deduct any charitable contributions he may have boasted about either.
Overall, the reporting shows that many of Trump’s claims regarding his financial ability have likely been false or misleading. It also shows some mysterious earnings that cannot easily be explained. Regardless though, all of his gains were offset by overwhelming losses year after year.
