Trump Paid More In Foreign Taxes Than U.S. Federal Taxes, Returns Show

The Ways and Means Committee released Donald Trump‘s tax returns from 2015 to 2020, showing the former President paid more to foreign governments than the U.S. federal government.

Trump kept financial accounts in China, Ireland and the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2017, years into his presidency. He also reported income in over a dozen countries, including China, India, Panama, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. Many of those countries received more in taxes from Trump than the U.S. federal government.

Trump failed to release his taxes when running for president, breaking the precedent set by every sitting U.S. president since the Watergate era.

The releases show that Trump reported millions of dollars in losses over numerous years, allowing him to pay as little as $750 to the federal government as president.

The documents raise questions about the ethics of Trump’s tax practices and refute his assertions of being a business success.

Trump has spent years attempting to withhold his tax information from the public. Trump lost a lengthy court battle to keep his documents sealed after the Supreme Court ruled against the former president.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines to release the documents to the public. Committee Chair Rep. Richard Neal (D–Massachusetts) called the vote to release the taxes a “responsibility.”

“Today, the weight of our job is heavy. Congress serves as a check on the executive branch, and our committee is entrusted with oversight of our revenue system. We all come to Ways and Means with the goal of creating a fairer tax code. Because at the root of it all, it is our federal tax system that funds the democracy we all cherish and love.”

Trump has rejected the claims the taxes show great losses.

“The ‘Trump’ tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises,” he said in a statement.

During his 2020 election, Trump responded to claims that he may not have paid any federal taxes.

“That makes me smart,” he said at the time.