EX-US President Donald J. Trump (76) – for years, he had opposed the publication of his tax records

DLNews Politics:

After years of legal battles and speculation about Donald Trump's (76) wealth and financial entanglements, the truth is now coming to light.

The US Congressional Committee released the ex-President's well-kept tax records on Friday. As a result, Trump's tax documents from 2015 to 2020 are now online.

Pre-summary reports released by the committee last week already detailed information from Trump's tax returns for 2015 to 2020 - i.e., from the period just before and throughout his tenure as president.

In 2016, the year he was elected, and in 2017, his first year in the White House, Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax and claimed high losses. In 2018 he reported millions in profits and paid almost one million dollars in income tax; in 2019, his tax was around 133,000 dollars.

In the last year of office, 2020, Trump paid no income tax.

Now it is believed that the entire record from 2015 to 2020 offers a glimpse into the complexities of Trump's finances - and also proves that he benefited from the tax policies he practiced as the president himself. Example: the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 brought a range of tax breaks and cuts for businesses and wealthy individuals.

The New York Times had already reported during the 2020 presidential election campaign that Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017. This was made possible by write-offs and credits, among other things, because of high losses.

EX-US President Donald J. Trump (76) – for years, he had opposed the publication of his tax records

Trump denied it at the time, claiming he paid "millions."

Trump: "A shame for the US Congress."

Even now, the ex-president denies that the documents contained much information. Trump commented in a video – and condemned the publications. "Although these tax returns contain relatively little information and no information that almost anyone would understand - they are extremely complex - the behavior of the radical Democrats is a disgrace to the US Congress," Trump said - and immediately combined the statement with a request for donations for his election campaign.

BUT: The publications are explicit gossip for the ex-president: for years, he had refused and fought legally against handing over the documents to the finance committee. After all, it failed before the Supreme Court a few weeks ago.

Last minute success

For the committee, this was a last-minute success!

︎ But, unfortunately, since the Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives in the congressional elections and will be in charge there from next week, the democratically led body had little time to do something about the matter.

The tax documents are by no means Trump's only problem. Investigations are underway against him because of the attack by his supporters on the US Capitol in 2021 and because he kept some top-secret government documents in his private home after leaving office.