US elections 2020: Trump says paid 'millions of dollars' in income tax
Donald Trump-Joe Biden
Donald Trump said during the first US presidential debate against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that he has paid "millions of dollars" in income tax.
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During the debate moderator Christopher W Wallace, an American television anchor and political commentator, asked Trump, “Is it true that you paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017?”
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Offering no evidence, Trump said he had paid, "millions of dollars. And you'll get to see it," despite his refusal to release any returns since he became a candidate in 2015, breaking with decades of tradition.
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During the debate calling Trump "totally irresponsible'' on managing Covid-19, Biden said the president is "a fool on this." "He panicked or he looked at the stock market," Biden said of Trump.
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Biden said that "millionaires" and "billionaires" like Trump have done very well during the pandemic.
Earlier, The New York Times published an article on Sunday claiming that Trump paid $750 each for 2016 as well as 2017 and that he paid no income taxes at all in ten of the previous 15 years. The president dismissed the claims as another piece of "fake news" in a series of tweets, adding that he was entitled to depreciation and tax credits like everyone else.
Biden's tax records showed he and his wife, Jill Biden, collectively earned $517,334 in 2019 and paid $346,204, while receiving a refund of $46,858.
(With inputs from agencies)