WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump paid about $36.5 million in federal income taxes in 2005 on $150 million in income, an effective rate of 24 percent, according to a leaked portion of a return given to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston.
The revelation Tuesday amounted to a rare glimpse of Trump's tax filings. It provided a spectacle, heavily promoted on MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show," which used the release of the new information to create maximum suspense and promote speculation about the reasons behind Trump's unwillingness to release his returns.
The New York Times previously reported on portions of Trump's 1995 returns, which showed that he took a write-down of nearly $1 billion.
Trump defied modern presidential expectations in denying to release his returns, blaming the failure to disclose on an audit. He had said he would furnish the returns when the audit was complete, but presidents are automatically audited, suggesting he will never release them.
Trump's tax bill would have been much smaller _ $5.3 million, or less than 4 percent _ if he were not forced under tax law to pay the so-called alternative minimum tax.
Johnston, an expert on the tax code, pointed out on Maddow's show that Trump supports eliminating the alternative minimum tax and noted that his tax rate would have been equal to someone earning less than $33,000 a year without it.
Trump's effective rate of about 24 percent still fell short of the top bracket of 35 percent paid on regular income that year and 28 percent on the alternative minimum. Trump took a write-down of $103 million.
A White House official confirmed the authenticity of Johnston's document in a statement, though that statement included Trump's payroll taxes to bring the total paid to $38 million.
The White House statement called Maddow "desperate for ratings" and accused her of violating a law by publishing the documents.
"Before being elected president, Mr. Trump was one of the most successful businessmen in the world with a responsibility to his company, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required," the statement read in part.
"That being said, Mr. Trump paid $38 million even after taking into account large scale depreciation for construction, on an income of more than $150 million, as well as paying tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes and this illegally published return proves just that ... .
"The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the president will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans."
