N. Y. Times: Trump paid $ 750 in income taxes in 2016, 2017

President Donald Trump paid just $ 750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in theWhiteHouse, according to a report Sunday in The New York Times.

Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.

The details of the tax filings complicate Trump’s description of himself as a shrewd and patriotic businessman, revealing instead a series of financial losses and income from abroad that could come into conflict with his responsibilities as president. The president’s financial disclosures indicated he earned at least $ 434.9 million in 2018, but the tax filings reported a $ 47.4 million loss.

The disclosure, which the Times said comes from tax return data it obtained extending over two decades, comes at a pivotal moment ahead of the first presidential debate Tuesday and weeks before a divisive election against Democrat Joe Biden.

Speaking at a news conference Sunday at theWhite House, Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” and said he has paid taxes, though he gave no specifics. He also vowed that information about his taxes “will all be revealed,” but he offered no timeline for the disclosure and made similar promises during the 2016 campaign on which he never followed through.

In fact, the president has fielded court challenges against those seeking access to his returns, including the U. S. House, which is suing for access to Trump’s tax returns as part of congressional oversight.

During his first two years as president, Trump received $ 73 million from foreign operations, which in addition to his golf properties in Scotland and Ireland included $ 3 million from the Philippines, $ 2.3 million from India and $ 1 million from Turkey. The president in 2017 paid $ 145,400 in taxes in India and $ 156,824 in the Philippines, compared to just $ 750 in U. S. income taxes.

Trump found multiple ways to reduce his tax bills. Hehas takentax deductions on personal expenses such as housing, aircraft and $ 70,000 in hair care. Losses in the property businesses solely owned and managed by Trump appear to have offset income fromhis stake in the television show “The Apprentice” and other entities with multiple owners.