Donald Trump hits back at reports he dodged tax as New York state tax department 'reviews' allegations
Donald Trump has dismissed as a "boring hit piece" a damning New York Times report that claims he engaged in dubious tax dodges.
On Wednesday Mr Trump accused the newspaper of "doing a very old, boring and often told hit piece on me." In a tweet, he said: "Added up, this means that 97 per cent of their stories on me are bad. Never recovered from bad election call!"
The 15,000-word report contradicts the US president's portrayal of himself as a self-made billionaire who started his venture with just a $1 million loan from his father Fred.
The report, which the paper says is based on more than 100,000 pages of financial documents, including confidential tax returns, provides one of the most detailed accounts of the Trump family fortune.
New York state's tax department announced it was reviewing the allegations and "is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation". The department typically refers findings to the state attorney general's office.
It is unlikely Mr Trump would face criminal prosecution in helping his parents evade taxes because the maneuvers occurred long ago and have passed the statute of limitation. However there is no time limit on civil fines for tax fraud.
The claims have also renewed calls for Mr Trump to release his income tax returns, something he has so far refused to do, breaking with a tradition set by his predecessors.
Democrats said they would push for Mr Trump to do so on Capitol Hill, including Senator Richard Durbin, the second most senior Democrat in the Senate.
"I knew there had to be a compelling reason why this president departed from previous presidents in not disclosing his income tax returns," Mr Durbin told the Washington Post.
The Failing New York Times did something I have never seen done before. They used the concept of “time value of money” in doing a very old, boring and often told hit piece on me. Added up, this means that 97% of their stories on me are bad. Never recovered from bad election call!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2018
If the Democratic Party takes control of either the House of Representatives or the Senate in November, they could also push Congress to investigate the matter.
The White House dismissed the report on Tuesday as a "misleading attack against the Trump family by the failing New York Times."
It criticised the newspaper and other media outlets, saying their low credibility with the public is "because they are consumed with attacking the president and his family 24/7 instead of reporting the news."
Charles Harder, a lawyer for Mr Trump, also rejected the claims, calling them “extremely inaccurate". “There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone," he said.
However the claims may compel the president to provide further details of his business empire, something he has hitherto been reluctant to do.
The New York Times reported that Mr Trump was receiving $200,000 from his father’s property businesses by the age of three and was a millionaire by the age of eight.
Mr Trump and his father avoided inheritance taxes by setting up a sham corporation called All County Building Supply & Maintenance to transfer money and undervaluing assets to tax authorities, according to the paper.
According to the paper's tally, Mr Trump's parents transferred over $1 billion in wealth to their children, on which they paid just $52.2 million in tax – the equivalent of a tax rate of around five per cent.
In all, Mr Trump received the equivalent of $413 million in today's dollars from his father's real estate empire the paper said.
