He bought the Eastern Airlines shuttle for $365 million; it never made a profit, and he spent more than $7 million a month to keep it flying. His new Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino, opened in 1990 with more than $800 million in debt, sucked revenue from his other casinos, pulling them along into the red. And so, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual taxpayer, according to the I.R.S. information on high earners — a publicly available database with taxpayers’ identifying details removed. Indeed, in 1990 and 1991, his core businesses lost more than $250 million each year — more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the sampling for those years. The tax code allows owners of commercial property to write down the cost of their buildings — a valuable tax shelter known as depreciation. In “The Art of the Deal,” Mr. Trump cited one of his Atlantic City casinos to show how it works. Built for $400 million and depreciated at a rate of 4 percent a year, he said, it could allow him to shelter $16 million in taxable income annually. But Mr. Trump’s example, meant to demonstrate the magic of depreciation, shows something else: Depreciation alone cannot account for the hundreds of millions of dollars in losses he declared on his taxes. 3. He paid no federal income taxes for eight of the 10 years Business owners like Mr. Trump may also use their losses to avoid paying taxes on future income. Over the years, those losses rolled into a $915.7 million free pass, known as a net operating loss, that appeared on his 1995 tax returns, pages of which were mailed anonymously to The Times during the 2016 campaign. The new tax information shows how Mr. Trump’s net operating losses snowballed, reaching $418 million in 1991. That was fully 1 percent of all the losses that the I.R.S. reported had been declared by individual taxpayers that year. And the red ink continued to accumulate apace. In all, Mr. Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying any federal income taxes for eight of the 10 years. 4. He made millions posing as a corporate raider — until investors realized he never followed through For a time, Mr. Trump was able to stave off his coming collapse with the help of a new public role: He traded on his business-titan brand to present himself as a corporate raider. He would acquire shares in a company with borrowed money, suggest publicly that he was contemplating a takeover, then quietly sell on the resulting bump in the stock price. An occasional quote from a high-profile associate helped burnish the myth.<doc-sep>To the Editor: Re “Trump Tax Figures Show a Decade of Huge Losses” (front page, May 8): Thanks for continuing to investigate President Trump’s tax returns and working to compensate for his fearful refusal to share important information with the American people. The details you have uncovered continue to demonstrate that his stated reasons for refusing to do what other candidates for president have accepted the need to do are not believable, and that his returns contain ample evidence of huge business failures, together with many practices and schemes for which, in my opinion, “suspect” is far too kind a word. As you point out, there are a plethora of other issues, including the many years when he failed to pay any taxes. In “5 Takeaways From 10 Years of Trump Tax Figures” (nytimes.com, May 8), you state that “year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual taxpayer .” Mr. Trump rightly should have been the host of the reality TV show called “The Biggest Loser.”<doc-sep>"Year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer" — NYT All along, even in 1987 at the peak of his myth when this Newsweek cover touted him as an icon of wealth, Donald Trump was a fraud. And the press played right along with the fraud. "Newly obtained tax information reveals that from 1985 to 1994, Donald J. Trump's businesses were in far bleaker condition than was previously known," report Susanne Craig and Russ Beutner at the New York Times in a major investigative feature. Donald Trump paid zero income taxes in 8 of the 10 years examined by the Times. "His losses were so big that in 1991 they accounted for fully 1% of all business losses declared that year by individual American taxpayers," wrote Susanne Craig. Excerpt: The data — printouts from Mr. Trump's official Internal Revenue Service tax transcripts, with the figures from his federal tax form, the 1040, for the years 1985 to 1994 — represents the fullest and most detailed look to date at the president's taxes, information he has kept from public view. Though the information does not cover the tax years at the center of an escalating battle between the Trump administration and Congress, it traces the most tumultuous chapter in a long business career — an era of fevered acquisition and spectacular collapse. The numbers show that in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade. In fact, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer, The Times found when it compared his results with detailed information the I.R.S. compiles on an annual sampling of high-income earners. His core business losses in 1990 and 1991 — more than $250 million each year — were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the I.R.S. information for those years. Over all, Mr. Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years. It is not known whether the I.R.S. later required changes after audits. The kicker is one for the ages: While Donald Trump reported hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for 1990 and 1991, Fred Trump's returns showed a positive income of $53.9 million, with only one major loss: $15 million invested in his son's latest apartment project. Go read the whole thing, then go subscribe to the New York Times: Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses "He was just bleeding money every year." The New York Times journalist @susannecraig shares details from recently published reporting on Donald Trump's finances. According to Craig's findings, Trump lost more than a billion dollars from 1985 to 1994. https://t.co/RZVfV9Xura pic.twitter.com/1p3Oiyavq2 — CNN (@CNN) May 8, 2019 This is an incredible chart from @russbuettner @susannecraig's new blockbuster on how "year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer" https://t.co/PlaHRr5e7U pic.twitter.com/0uED0F41hs — David W. Chen (@davidwchen) May 8, 2019 JUST POSTED: The New York Times has obtained 10 years of previously unrevealed figures from Donald Trump's federal income-tax returns – from 1985 to 1994. Trump ran up $1.2 billion in core business losses in the decade we examined. LOTS here ? https://t.co/Yc23kj9HEa — Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) May 7, 2019 We don't have Donald Trump's actual tax returns. Rather we obtained printouts from his official I.R.S. tax transcripts, with figures from his federal 1040, for 85 to 94. Here's an explanation of our sourcing -> pic.twitter.com/OwhXPgprpM — Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) May 7, 2019 Donald Trump paid no income taxes in 8 of the 10 years we examined. His losses were so big that in 1991 they accounted for fully 1% of all business losses declared that year by individual American taxpayers. w @russbuettner https://t.co/Yc23kj9HEa — Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) May 7, 2019 FATHER & SON: We now have tax info on Fred Trump & Donald Trump for a number of years. The upshot: Fred always made a lot of money. Donald always lost a lot of money. For a reminder on just how rich Fred was, here's our 2018 tax fraud investigation. https://t.co/9is4ZcpOY4 — Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) May 7, 2019 Donald Trump reported $52.9M in interest income in 89. The number is BIG, according to IRS data we examined. We don't know what Trump owned that could produce this type of $. The answer is on schedules we don't have & underscores the importance of seeing Trump's full tax return — Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) May 7, 2019 If Donald Trump's modern taxes ever come out it's important we see the 1040 form AND the attached schedules. The schedules will tell us sources of his income / how profitable (or not) his individual businesses are and more. So all the pages, as seen here? https://t.co/eTjyjrPLXX — Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) May 7, 2019 Reminder that Trump's sister — a federal judge — resigned last month to end an investigation into "whether she violated judicial conduct rules by participating in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings. "https://t.co/miS76gBtj0 — shauna (@goldengateblond) May 7, 2019<doc-sep>President Donald Trump is still fighting Congress over the release of his tax returns, but a new report on Tuesday analyzing his official Internal Revenue Service tax transcripts, with the figures from his federal tax forms, shows he lost over $1 billion from 1985 to 1994. The documents show Trump's businesses lost $1.17 billion over the 10 years, including $46.1 million in 1985 and hundreds of millions by the time of his much-publicized early-1990s financial collapse, according to a report in The New York Times, which acquired the tax documents. The president has often portrayed himself as having a "golden touch" in all businesses during the 1980s, before fighting back from serious financial debt -- due to struggles with his casino business -- in the 1990s. His infamous book, "The Art of the Deal," was released in 1987, right in the middle of the years covered in the tax documents. Charles Harder, an attorney for Trump, countered in a statement to the Times -- later provided to ABC News -- that the reporting was inaccurate and based off "inherently unreliable" tax transcripts. He also questioned whether the documents even exist. "We understand that your story relies upon IRS tax transcripts from the 1980s, rather than the actual tax returns. You cannot rely upon IRS tax transcripts from so long ago," Harder said in the statement. "To the extent any such documents even exist, they are inherently unreliable. IRS transcripts, particularly before the days of electronic filing, are notoriously inaccurate, incomplete and selective in any information that may have been manually inputted into (or omitted from) the IRS system. IRS transcripts from the 1980s would not be able to provide a reasonable picture of any taxpayer’s return. Drawing any conclusions from a purported tax transcript would be speculative at best, and constitute irresponsible and unethical reporting." "We have already informed you that your statements regarding Mr. Trump’s tax returns from 30 years ago are highly inaccurate and based upon information that is demonstrably false," Harder continued. "Any story on this subject that is inaccurate and harms Mr. Trump’s reputation would be defamatory with actual malice. You are on notice. All rights are reserved." Trump did not pay any taxes in eight of the 10 years analyzed by the Times due to his financial losses. During his financial collapse in 1990 and 1991, he lost more than $250 million each year, the documents show. The report comes in the middle of an ongoing fight with Congress over the release of more recent Trump tax returns. Democrats have argued that the release of Trump's tax returns are required by a 1924 tax code provision. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin denied congressional Democrats' request for six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns on Monday. "Out of respect for the deadlines previously set by the Committee, and consistent with our commitment to a prompt response, I am informing you now that the Department may not lawfully fulfill the Committee’s request," Mnuchin wrote. The Ways and Means Committee, headed by Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., has been pushing to get financial information from Trump since Democrats took over the House in the midterm elections. During the campaign, and since his election, Trump has always claimed his finances are under audit and therefore cannot release his taxes. Trump bragged about his late-1980s success in an interview with "Nightline" in 1994. Trump told ABC News at the time he was worth $5 billion in 1989. By that time he was already losing hundreds of millions of dollars, the tax documents acquired by the Times show. "I was at the highest of all pedestals, the hottest in the country, the highest point," Trump told ABC News in 1994 of his '80s success. "Everything I touched turned to gold immediately. Everything I did turned to gold. And life started getting boring. And then one day, the pedestal was knocked out from under me." Democrats seized on the Times report to knock Trump. "Trump’s 1985-1994 tax data shows that he had no idea how to make a deal," Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., tweeted. "In fact, to put it in terms appropriate to a former reality TV star, he was the biggest loser." Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said in an interview with CNN that the documents show a "stunning picture of spectacular collapse during those years." Trump reacted to the story Wednesday morning, tweeting that the Times' report contained "very old information" and was "a highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!" "You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes," Trump also tweeted. "Almost all real estate developers did -- and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport." ABC News' Megan Hughes and John Parkinson contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
We still haven’t seen President Donald Trump’s tax returns, but on Tuesday night, the New York Times published a detailed report examining information about his taxes between the years of 1985 and 1994. The Times didn’t obtain his actual tax returns, but it did receive information about his taxes from a source who had legal access to the returns, it said. And the paper was able to corroborate the validity of the returns by comparing it to publicly available records and information it had previously obtained. Here are seven shocking findings from the report: 1. $1.17 billion in losses The big headline take away of the piece is astounding: Over the ten years, Trump had more $1.17 billion in business losses. 2. Much of that was concentrated in 1990 and 1991 In just these two years, Trump lost a staggering $250 million annually. 3. No income taxes for eight out of ten years Because his businesses were simply arranged as partnerships, the losses were reported on his personal tax returns, rather than through corporate filings. With such massive losses, Trump was able to avoid paying any personal income tax for eight out of the ten years the Times reviewed, according to the report. 4. This isn’t common at all. Defenders of Trump will say he had some tough times and some good times, and that this is just the life of a high-profile businessman. Not so. According to the Times, Trump “appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer…” 5. Trump’s father, on the other hand, made money. One person who appears to have done much better than Donald Trump? His father, Fred Trump — the man who really made the Trump family wealthy and bequeathed the fortune to his children. “We now have tax info on Fred Trump & Donald Trump for a number of years,” said reporter Susanne Craig, one of the reporters of the story. “The upshot: Fred always made a lot of money. Donald always lost a lot of money.” 6. “It’s been good financially.” One of the most amazing parts of the story is a graph that shows Trump’s accumulated losses as they rack up on his returns. Next to some of the bars, the chart includes quotes from Trump talking about his finances. In 1990, the Times reported that Trump said, “It’s been good financially” — a year in which he had lost a cumulative $400 million. In other words, he’s always been an outrageous liar. 7. Trump made money in the stock market with lies. As his businesses were tanking in the late 1980s, Trump had to find other ways to rake in cash. One method, the Times found, was to buy stock in a company, claim he was going to take over that company, watch the stock rise, and then sell his shares. He would profit, and never buy the company after all. Eventually, the Times reported, this scam stopped working when investors gave up on taking his boasts seriously.