Among the many findings in The New York Times’ analysis of tax documents relating to President Donald Trump is the “revelation” that the records do not “reveal any previously unreported connections to Russia.”
This would come as a shock to those who have long claimed sketchy business dealings between Trump and Russia would be the president’s downfall. The only Russia angle the Times was able to find in the documents it analyzed pertained to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Trump, as co-owner of the pageant, made $2.3 million from the event, which was underwritten by the shady Agalarov family, which lost money on the deal.
From Trump and NBC, the pageant was lucrative: That is borne out by the tax records. They show that in 2013, the pageant reported $31.6 million in gross receipts — the highest since at least the 1990s — allowing Mr. Trump and his co-owner, NBC, to split profits of $4.7 million. By comparison, Mr. Trump and NBC shared losses of $2 million from the pageant the year before the Moscow event, and $3.8 million from the one the year after.
Beyond the Russia information, the Times analysis twists, downplays, and ignores that Trump paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes over the years. He was able to get much of that money back due to the tax code and the nature of his business — real estate development and investment. For example, Trump paid $95 million in federal income taxes over 18 years from “The Apprentice.” The Times notes that he recouped most of that money from a $72.9 million refund that is the subject of a decade-long audit. Even with the refund, that leaves more than $20 million in federal income taxes over 18 years. – READ MORE
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