Washington: President Donald Trump paid $38 million (Dh140 million) in taxes on more than $150 million in income in 2005, the White House said on Tuesday, responding to an MSNBC report that the network had obtained two pages of the returns.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said she received the documents from journalist David Cay Johnston, who said on her show that he received them in the mail.
The White House did not release any documents supporting its numbers. It said Trump, as head of the Trump Organization, had a responsibility “to pay no more tax than legally required.”
Trump has refused to release his tax returns, saying his taxes were under audit by the Internal Revenue Service.
Presidents and major candidates for the White House have routinely released their income tax returns. Experts say an IRS audit does not bar someone from releasing the documents.
At times Trump paid no federal income taxes, according to news reports. That includes at least two years in the late 1970s, the Washington Post reported last year, citing a 1981 New Jersey gambling commission report.
The New York Times reported in October that Trump declared a substantial loss in 1995 that could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years afterward, based on records obtained by the newspaper.
During a September presidential debate, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton criticized Trump for paying no federal income taxes.
“That makes me smart,” he responded.
