In the spotlight: explosive revelations on Donald Trump's tax situation
Donald Trump would have paid only $ 750 in the year he was elected and would have paid nothing at all for years, a New York Times revelation.
REUTERS / Carlos Barria
Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow
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In an exclusive investigation, the
New York Times
reveals shocking information: Donald Trump would have paid only $ 750 in the year of his election and would have paid nothing at all for years.
The daily says it has had access to the tax returns of the former real estate mogul over 20 years and ensures that of the hundred companies owned by the president, several are in difficulty.
Each year, Donald Trump is said to have declared more losses than gains.
In an
editorial
, the editor of the
New York Times
explains this morning the reasons that prompted his newspaper to publish this explosive information on the tax situation of Donald Trump.
“
We are publishing this report because we believe that citizens should know as much as possible about their leaders,
” writes Dean Baquet, who continues: “
Since the 1970s, every president has made his tax returns public.
;
a tradition which ensures that an elected official who has influence on the markets and the power to change fiscal policies does not seek to benefit financially.
Mr. Trump, one of the richest presidents in the country's history, has broken with this practice.
Our latest findings rightly underscore that Mr. Trump's businesses seem to have benefited from his presidential office and that there have been potential conflicts between his own financial interests and the nation's diplomatic interests
”.
And the editor of the daily concludes: “
Some will raise questions about the publication of the personal tax information of the president.
But the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the First Amendment allows the press to publish newsworthy information that has been legally obtained, even when power is struggling to keep it hidden.
And this first amendment to our Constitution applies here
”.
The
New York Times
revelations
spill a lot of ink in other American newspapers as well, as they "
cast doubt on the president's self-conceived image as a top-flight real estate developer with millions in the bank,
" points out the
Los Angeles Times
.
For the website of the
CNN
channel
, the
New York Times article
shows Donald Trump as an “
emperor without clothes
”, in reference to the famous count of Hans Christian Andersen: “
It is the devastating image of a bleeding president financially and which depends on his presidency to stay afloat,
”said the columnist.
In the midst of the electoral campaign, the Democratic camp was quick to react.
After "
Article explosive
" the
New York Times
, "
the
leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer accused the President of having personally benefited from the tax law for companies instead of improving the situation of Average Americans who work hard,
”reports
The Hill
.
The
House Committee on Ways and Means
- the main committee in charge of tax returns in the House of Representatives - "
which has fought for years to obtain tax returns from Donald Trump, said in a statement that the president has used the tax laws to his advantage and that he engaged in legal battles to delay or avoid paying what he owes
”.
It's "
incredible and disgusting,
" said Democratic Senator Elisabeth Warren, quoted by The Hill.
What will be the impact of these revelations on the presidential election?
Most commentators agree that despite the importance of the information published by The
New York Times,
it is unlikely to have much influence on voters who are about to vote for the incumbent president.
"
Locked in their Fox News channel bubble, supporters of Donald Trump have been conditioned to believe that the New York Times is the media arm of the Democratic electoral machine
," CNN said.
Venezuela
: regions mobilize against fuel shortage
In Venezuela, major protests have taken place in recent days in several cities across the country.
"
In the midst of the inertia that had been installed for several months in Venezuela, this mobilization is surprising,
" said the daily
El Pais
.
"
Living conditions are getting worse, and discontent ends up boiling over, even in the midst of a pandemic
."
It is also interesting to note that these demonstrations were not initiated by the opposition leader Juan Guaido who is struggling today to convince Venezuelans as his strategy has not yielded results.
No, it is a "
convocation of the Popular Revolutionary Alternative (APR), an acronym under which groups of left parties disappointed with Chavism are united, which lit the fuse
", reports
El Pais
.
And this time, the bulk of the protests do not take place in the capital Caracas, usually the epicenter of the protest.
On the contrary, it is "
the Venezuelan regions which are rebelling
", underlines
El Espectador
.
“
Whether in the state of Yaracuy, in those of Amazonas, Tachira, Guárico, Nueva Esparta or even in the state of Bolívar, by all Venezuelans have taken to the streets since last Thursday.
They denounce above all the lack of fuel, a shortage that could prove to be one too many in this country which has the largest oil reserves in the world
”.
The
Tal Cual
newspaper
reports today that motorists have to wait for up to a week in endless queues in front of gas stations which are guarded by the military.
And even users considered priority, such as doctors for example, no longer manage to refuel.
In many cities there is not a drop of gasoline left, and sometimes for weeks.
The regime of Nicolas Maduro reacts to the demonstrations with repression.
"
Venezuelan human rights organizations denounce dozens of arbitrary arrests in three days of mobilization,
" reports the Argentinian daily
Clarin
.
As for Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly and who has been recognized by some fifty countries as president of Venezuela, he called yesterday for new demonstrations in the coming days,
El Nacional
wrote this morning
.
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