LONG-CONCEALED RECORDS SHOW TRUMP’S CHRONIC LOSSES AND YEARS OF TAX AVOIDANCE

Donald Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years, according to a report Sunday in The New York Times, largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.

Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid $750 in taxes to the federal government the year he was elected, 2016, and $750 again his first year in office.

The disclosure, which the Times said comes from tax return data it obtained extending over two decades, comes just prior to the first presidential debate Tuesday, and 5 weeks before the election.

Trump’s finances are under stress, due to losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed.

The records also show that Trump depends more and more on making money from businesses that put him in direct conflict of interest with his job as president.

A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Garten, and a spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on the report.

The Times summarized its report:

“Mr. Trump’s finances are under stress, beset by losses that he aggressively employs to avoid paying taxes, and hundreds of millions in debt that he has personally guaranteed, which comes due in the coming years.

“He paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016, and nothing in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.

“Also hanging over him is an audit battle that he has long been waging, out of public view, with the I.R.S. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.”