Trump's returns show years of tax avoidance: NYT

A New York Times report on Sunday revealed U.S. President Donald Trump paid little to no federal income taxes at all over the past two decades, after years of reporting heavy business losses to minimize his tax bill.

Citing tax return data, the Times said the president paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years through 2017, despite receiving over $400 million through 2018 from his reality television program and other endorsement and licensing deals.

In both 2016 and 2017, he reportedly paid just $750 in federal income tax.

Trump denied the report at a news conference Sunday... dismissing it as "fake news."

"It's fake news, It's totally fake news, made up...fake. We went through the same as you can arrest me. The same questions four years ago. I had to litigate this and talk about it. Totally fake news."

Trump again cited an ongoing audit as his reason for not releasing his returns.

In a statement to the Times, a lawyer for the Trump Organization said Trump had paid millions of dollars in personal taxes over the last decade, without weighing in on the specific finding of minimal income taxes.

The disclosure of previously private tax information came just a little more than a month before the Nov. 3 election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.

Democrats were quick to seize on the report to paint Trump as a tax dodger.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer took to Twitter to ask Americans to raise their hands if they paid more in federal income tax than Trump.

Trump's consistent refusal to release his taxes has been a departure from standard practice for presidential candidates.

He is currently in a legal battle with New York City prosecutors and congressional Democrats who are seeking to obtain his returns.