An explosive New York Times investigation reveals that President Donald Trump—a purported business-savvy billionaire whose name has adorned everything from steaks to golf courses to office towers—paid only $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
Trump’s political opponents blasted him for the meager tax payments, but was their energy misplaced? William Dickens, university distinguished professor of economics and social policy at Northeastern, says that while the Times report outlines some “questionable deductions,” more generally, “Trump is just benefiting from a lot of legal deductions.”
The report calls into question the extent to which Trump’s considerable real estate holdings actually depreciated. And indeed, Trump has been entangled in an audit by the federal Internal Revenue Service for nearly a decade.
