Report: Trump Had Over $280 Million In Debt Forgiven And Avoided Paying Taxes On Most Of It

Topline

President Donald Trump has had $287 million worth of loans forgiven since 2010, according to a New York Times analysis of his tax returns—money that would normally count as taxable income but on which Trump has managed to mostly avoid paying taxes, the newspaper says.

Key Facts

Chief Critic

Alan Garten, an attorney for the Trump Organization, told the Times that Trump paid all the taxes he owed on the debts that were forgiven. 

Big Number

More than $1 billion. That’s how much money Trump currently owes, with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of loans due in the next couple of years, potentially putting lenders in a position of having to foreclose or take other legal action against the president of the United States if Trump is reelected.

What To Watch For

New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating Trump’s forgiven debts to see if he followed the law when it came to paying taxes.

Key Background

Trump paid only $750 in income taxes for the years 2016 and 2017, according to a bombshell report from the Times released last month, which Trump has denied. As president, Trump has broken with precedent and refused to release his tax returns, leading to intense speculation about what the tax records might contain. Trump claims that he will release his tax records after an IRS audit determines whether he gets to keep $72.9 million in tax money the government returned to him. There is no law keeping Trump from releasing his tax records in the meantime, but Trump has said it would be unwise for him to release them while under audit.

Further Reading

How Trump Maneuvered His Way Out of Trouble in Chicago (The New York Times 

Donald Trump Has At Least $1 Billion In Debt, More Than Twice The Amount He Suggested (Forbes)

Report: Trump Only Paid $750 In Taxes For 2016 And 2017 (Forbes)

LONG-CONCEALED RECORDS SHOW TRUMP’S CHRONIC LOSSES AND YEARS OF TAX AVOIDANCE (The New York Times)