Donald Trump may have avoided paying federal income taxes in the US for up to 18 years after declaring a $916m (£706m) loss on his tax returns in the mid-1990s, according to reports.
The Republican presidential candidate, who has throughout his campaign for the White House refused to release his tax returns, is said to have received the large tax benefit from business debts recorded in 1995.
The New York Times, which claimed to have obtained Trump’s tax return for that year, reported that tax experts hired to analyse the documents said US laws would have let Trump use the near-$1bn loss to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income until 2013.
The Trump campaign said in response that the tax document was obtained illegally and that the New York Times was operating as “an extension” of the presidential campaign of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
The Times said that although Trump’s taxable income in subsequent years is as yet unknown, a $916m loss in 1995 would have been large enough to wipe out more than $50m a year in taxable income over 18 years.
Trump has declined to release his tax records, unlike previous presidential nominees in modern history, saying his taxes are under a federal audit. Experts say he could still release them publicly if he wished.
“Mr Trump is a highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required,” the Trump campaign statement said.
“That being said, Mr Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions,” it said.
The revelations came as the Republican candidate attempted to reverse a week of negative headlines following his performance in the first of three debates with Clinton. Speaking in Pennsylvania on Saturday night, he warned of voter fraud in “certain areas” and mocked his Democratic rival’s health and marriage while suggesting she should be imprisoned.
During the speech to nearly 5,000 supporters, Trump said of Clinton that “she has bad temperament, she could actually be crazy”, and went on to imply that she had been unfaithful to her husband. “I don’t even think she’s loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth. And really folks, why should she be, right?” Trump said.
The Republican nominee, whose rallies have long included loud chants of “lock her up” directed towards Clinton, said bluntly on Saturday “she should be in prison”.
He also mentioned Clinton’s collapse in September at a ceremony commemorating the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack. “She couldn’t even make it 15ft to a car,” said the Republican nominee of the incident prompted by the Democratic nominee being dehydrated while suffering from pneumonia. In doing so, Trump pretended to stumble and then staggered about the stage.
Trump also warned of the spectre of voter fraud without evidence, revisiting accusations he first made in August that there would be voter fraud in “certain areas” of Pennsylvania, a statement that was a clear dog-whistle about African American areas of Philadelphia. “Watch your polling booths, because I hear too many stories about Pennsylvania, certain areas,” the Republican nominee told the almost exclusively white crowd in Manheim. He added “we can’t lose an election because you know what I am talking about”.
A popular rightwing conspiracy theory has long been that Mitt Romney was the victim in voter fraud there in 2012. The theory premised on the fact that in 59 precincts in African American neighbourhoods, Romney did not receive a single vote. There are 1,687 precincts in the city and Obama received more than 85% of the vote in 2012.
Trump also complained about what he saw as a rigged debate and insisted that he actually bested Hillary Clinton in Monday night’s presidential debate. Trump insisted he won the debate but also suggested that the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates deliberately gave him a defective microphone on purpose in an attempt to sabotage his performance.
Earlier in the day, Trump had already said on Twitter: “I won the debate if you decide without watching the totally one-sided ‘spin’ that followed. This despite the really bad microphone.”
