Happy Monday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL—Five takeaways from NYT Trump taxes bombshell: As you’ve probably seen by now, The New York Times on Sunday published a groundbreaking look into President Trump’s finances based on more than a decade of tax documents closely guarded by the president.
The bombshell report shed new light onto how Trump reportedly used his business empire to wipe out much of his own income tax liabilities, but at potentially high financial and legal risk.
Here are five key takeaways from the report on Trump’s taxes.
- Trump paid almost nothing in personal income taxes for nearly two decades: Trump was able to avoid paying income taxes for 10 of the 15 years preceding his election in 2016, according to the Times, and paid just $750 in income taxes during the first two years of his presidency.
- Business losses protected his personal gains: Much of Trump’s personal tax liability was covered by a $72.9 million refund he received in 2010, according to the Times, claiming losses potentially driven by the failure of his Atlantic City Casinos.
- Financial record at odds with Trump’s boasts and disclosures: The trove of financial information obtained by the Times revealed discrepancies between how much money the president claims to have made and how much he told the IRS he did.
- A ton of debt — and due soon: Trump appears to be in an increasingly precarious financial situation as hundreds of millions of dollars in debt he owes will soon be due for collection.
- Trump could face serious legal consequences: The financial information unearthed by the Times revealed several areas where Trump could be vulnerable to civil or criminal charges for tax or financial services fraud.
More on the New York Times report on Trump’s taxes:
- Pelosi blasts Trump tax practices as a ‘disdain for America’s working families’
- Michael Cohen: Trump’s ‘biggest fear’ is ‘a massive tax bill,’ possible fraud charges
- Trump defends tax practices while bashing New York Times report
- Democrats slam Trump after report reveals he avoided income taxes for 10 years: ‘Disgusting’
- Ocasio-Cortez: Trump contributed less in taxes ‘than waitresses and undocumented immigrants’
RSVP FOR OUR CENTURY OF THE WOMAN SUMMIT ON 9/30: On Wednesday, September 30, The Hill Virtually Live hosts a three-part program bringing together remarkable women leaders and decision-makers to discuss progress and the barriers that remain. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Rep. Terri Sewell, Lilly Ledbetter, Ellevest’s Sallie Krawcheck, Hilda Solis, Tina Tchen and many more. RSVP today for event reminders.
LEADING THE DAY
Trump tax reveal roils presidential race: An explosive report on President Trump’s tax returns has roiled the presidential race as Democrat Joe Biden and Trump get ready to debate for the first time on Tuesday night.
- The White House aggressively sought to push back on the report in The New York Times that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.
- Democrats, believing the report could bolster their chances in November, seized on the news, and the Biden campaign released a new ad noting that Trump was paying less in taxes than the average U.S. school teacher or firefighter
- Republicans acknowledged the report had the potential to hurt Trump at a critical time, as he is trying to catch up to Biden in swing-state and national polls.
The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant and Brett Samuels have more on the political impact here.
Households, businesses fall into financial holes as COVID-19 aid dries up: Americans feeling the economic weight of the coronavirus are about to enter their third month without crucial government aid that helped keep millions of households afloat during the recession.
- Two months have passed since Congress and the White House allowed emergency COVID-19 protections and safety net programs to expire.
- Those provisions, enacted in late March under the CARES Act, were credited with preventing an even worse economic downturn.
Now, families are struggling to get by without supplemental unemployment funding, and many small businesses are reaching the end of financial lifelines that were extended by the federal government in the spring and summer.
“The damage on these families can scar for years,” said Andrew Stettner, an unemployment expert at the left-leaning Century Foundation.
The Hill’s Niv Elis tells us why here.
ON TAP TOMORROW:
- Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Richard Clarida delivers remarks at the 2020 U.S. Treasury Market Conference, 11:40 a.m.
- The House Financial Services Committee’s task force on financial technology holds a hearing on the legal framework for digital lending and payments processing, 12 p.m.
- Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles discusses financial regulation at the Harvard Law School and Program on International Financial Systems, 1 p.m.
- The Wilson Center hosts a panel discussion on Mexico’s perspective on labor provisions included in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, 1 p.m.
- Quarles will also discuss financial stability during an event held by the Center for Financial Policy at the University of Maryland, 3 p.m.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Centrist Democrats got their COVID bill. Now they want a vote.
- A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked President Trump’s TikTok ban just hours before it was set to go into effect, NPR reports.
- The Washington Post: “Wealth gaps between Black and White families persisted even at the height of the economic expansion”