David Cay Johnston, writing for The Daily Beast this week, revealed that in 1984 Donald Trump paid no state or federal income taxes.
The revelation comes from “two tax appeals that Trump filed in the 1990s,” both of which he lost.
In 1984, according to Johnston’s reporting, “Trump listed no income on [his Schedule C], yet he deducted $626,264 as expenses. His New York City tax return also showed no income, but listed slightly less in expenses: $619,227.”
The administrative law judge hearing one of Trump’s appeals noted that in 1984 “Mr. Trump had no income tax due.”
Five of Trump’s previous tax returns were revealed as part of his 1981 efforts to receive a casino license in New Jersey. Those records revealed that Trump paid taxes from 1975 through 1977, but paid zero income taxes in 1978 or 1979.
While Trump steadfastly refuses to release his more recent tax returns, we now know that in half the years for which we have records, he paid no income tax.
