Trump slams ‘DISHONEST MEDIA’ as White House reveals President paid £31MILLION in taxes
THE White House has blasted the mainstream media for being willing to “violate the law” and release Donald Trump’s tax return.
Stolen document reveals Trump paid MILLIONS in taxes
Donald Trump beat MSNBC reporters to the punch to reveal he paid a taggering £31 million ($38 million) in taxes on an income of £123 million ($150 million).
The US president’s taxes were released in response to the US journalist Rachel Maddow’s claims on Twitter that she had obtained the President’s tax returns from 2005.
After releasing his taxes, the White House said: "You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about 2 pages of tax returns”.
A US journalist claims she has Donald Trump's tax returns
Ms Maddow said fellow MSNBC reporter David Cay Johnston obtained a federal return for one year. It is believed to be the first time a journalist has ever obtained a tax document from the former business tycoon.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Trump tax tweet
Rachel Maddow second tweet on Trump's taxes
Her initial tweet read: “Rachel Maddow, a journalist for MSNBC, tweeted: “We've got Trump tax returns. Tonight, 1am GMT (9pm Et). (Seriously).”
The news comes after the 70-year-old's senior counsellor Kellyanne Conway broke one of his many campaign promises as she told ABC news, “he’s not going to release his tax returns. We litigated throughout the election".
The returns could show Trump’s financial interests around the world, including where he does business, who his partners are and to whom he owes money.
Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid $40mm in taxes! #Taxes
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 15, 2017
The US President previously pledged to release his returns throughout his election, but only after a supposed audit.
A recent Washington Post-ABC poll showed that 74 per cent of Americans want to see Trump’s returns. That includes 53 per cent of Republicans.
Two pages of Trump's tax returns shown live on air
The award-winning investigative journalist Mr Johnston said on MSNBC that he recieved Trump's tax returns in the mail.
Ms Maddow hit back at White House claims that reporting on the returns is "illegal" as she said: “The first amendment gives us the right to publish this return."
The White House statement in response to Ms Maddow's revelations
Mr Johnson’s summary of the President’s tax returns have been published, reportedly showing Trump and his wife Melania paying around £4.4 million ($5.3 million) in regular federal income tax—a rate of less than 4 per cent.
However, Trump and Melania paid an additional £25 million ($31 million) in the so-called “alternative minimum tax".
Trump’s 2005 return also shows that he’d continued to benefit from the roughly £753 million ($916 million) loss he reported in his 1995 return—published last year.
Using a loophole Congress closed in 1996, Trump allegedly converted that loss into a tax credit for the same amount he could offset against income.