Trump paid $38 million in income tax in 2005

President Donald Trump paid $38 million in federal income tax in 2005 on more than $150 million, for an effective rate of 25 percent, after writing off $100 million in business losses to reduce the amount owed, according to a copy of his federal tax return revealed on MSNBC on Tuesday night.

Two pages of the tax document were obtained by David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, and he reported about it on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

The revelation provides the most recent glimpse at Trump’s income. In October, The New York Times reported that Trump reported a massive $916 million loss in 1995, which potentially enabled him to avoid paying income taxes for decades.

Trump repeatedly has refused to release his income tax returns, breaking with decades of tradition for presidential nominees, claiming that he has been under audit. Being under audit, however, does not preclude someone from releasing their own forms.

A statement from the White House indicated the return information shown Tuesday night is authentic, but it accused MSNBC of unlawfully releasing Trump’s returns.

“You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago,” the statement said. It added that Trump, as “one of the most successful businessmen in the world,” paid “no more tax than legally required.”

The statement went on to say: “Mr. Trump paid $38 million dollars even after taking into account large scale depreciation for construction, on an income of more than $150 million dollars, as well as paying tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes and this illegally published return proves just that. Despite this substantial income figure and tax paid, it is totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns. The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the President will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans.”

The percentage Trump paid in taxes is higher than the roughly 10 percent the average American pays each year but below the 27.4 percent that taxpayers earning $1 million a year average, according to data from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

The unauthorized release or publishing of federal tax returns is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to five years in jail. But Maddow said MSNBC was exercising its First Amendment right to publish information in the public interest.

Johnston, a former New York Times reporter who once wrote a book on Trump, said he received the information unsolicited in the mail, and that he does not know who sent it. He suggested it might have been Trump himself.

The information released Tuesday may suggest that Trump didn’t avoid income taxes for nearly two decades after all. The Times report in October concluded that, based on the 1995 return and the realities of how developers can avoid income taxes due to devaluation of their properties, Trump could have avoided paying any income taxes for up to 18 years afterward.