Donald Trump began his day today on Twitter fighting back against The New York Times which published 10 years of his IRS tax records showing business losses of more than $1 billion between 1985 and 1994.
Trump called the piece a “highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!” He went on to explain, “Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases. Much was non monetary. Sometimes considered “tax shelter…
“You would get it by building, or even buying. You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes….almost all real estate developers did – and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport.”
According to the Times, Trump lost so much money over that time that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight years.