President donald trump and his wife melania were involved in a legal battle over the release of his tax returns that was ultimately decided by the supreme court last month. the documents released by the house ways and means committee span the years 2015 to 2020, and show that the couple paid some form of tax during all six years, but were able to reduce their income taxes in several years due to deductions and losses from trump’s businesses. the documents were released in april 2021, and the internal revenue service was questioned about their failure to properly investigate trump’s practices.
Documents show that trump and his wife reported adjusted gross income of $24.3m in 2018 and paid a net tax of $1m, while in 2019 they reported $4.4m of income and paid $134,000 in taxes. in 2017 they reported a negative gross income of $12.9m, yielding an income tax bill of $750. in 2020, they reported negative gross income of $4.8m and paid no net income tax. the couple was also responsible for self-employment and household employment taxes, which totalled $3m during their four years in the white house.
Documents paint a mixed portrait of trump, who made his name developing property and starring as a celebrity boss on a reality television show. democrats raised questions about the legitimacy of some of the deductions, including one for $916m (â£758m), and said the tax returns were short on details. a spokesman for trump said the release was politically motivated.
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