President Trump threw cold water on a report that he paid about 25 percent of his income in federal taxes in 2005, asking if anyone really believed that a reporter would just be handed one of his old tax returns.
The Daily Beast reported on two pages of Trump’s 2005 income tax return, showing he paid about $5 million in income taxes and $31 million in alternative minimum tax that year on about $150 million in income.
The White House released a statement Tuesday night criticizing, but not denying, the report, and Trump ripped the way it came to light on Wednesday morning.
“Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, ‘went to his mailbox’ and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!” Trump said.
Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, “went to his mailbox” and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2017
Trump’s tax returns have been the subject of controversy ever since he refused to release them during the presidential campaign. He has maintained that he is under an IRS audit and can’t release them even though the law does not prohibit a private individual from releasing his or her own tax returns, regardless of audit.
