Wednesday 15 March 2017

Trump's Backdated Tax Return Document Now Leaked

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump paid $38m (£31m) in tax on more than $150m (£123m) income in 2005, a leaked tax return shows.

Two pages of the tax return were revealed by US TV network MSNBC, triggering an angry response from the White House.

It said publishing the tax return was illegal, reports the BBC.

Trump refused to release his tax returns during the election campaign, breaking with a long-held tradition.

The two pages were a fraction of the complete return and did not include details of Trump's income.

Correspondents say the leak is still significant because so little is known about President Trump's tax returns and the new information will increase pressure on him to release more.

The two pages show that Trump paid $5.3m in federal income tax and an extra $31m in what is called alternative minimum tax (AMT).

AMT was set up nearly 50 years ago to stop the wealthiest people from using deductions and loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

Donald Trump

The $38m bill was an effective tax rate of about 24 percent, higher than the average American citizen would pay but below the 27.4 percent averaged by higher-earning taxpayers.

Although leaking federal tax returns is a criminal offense, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow argued that it was exercising its First Amendment right to publish information in the public interest.

Journalist David Cay Johnston, interviewed on MSNBC, said he had received the documents in the post from an anonymous source.

In a statement issued before the broadcast, the White House said: “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.”

It said Trump had a responsibility to pay no more tax than was legally required.

Every US presidential candidate since 1976 has released their tax returns although there is no law requiring it.


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