Bill de Blasio announces investigation into whether Donald Trump paid city taxes saying it’s ‘a foregone conclusion’ that he ‘cheated New York City’ out of millions
- Bill de Blasio on Monday night opened an investigation into Trump’s city taxes
- The mayor said it was ‘a foregone conclusion’ that the president ‘cheated’
- On Sunday the New York Times revealed Trump paid only $750 in income tax
The mayor of New York has said he will task the city’s finance department with investigating whether Donald Trump has paid his city taxes, in the wake of a bombshell New York Times investigation into the president’s finances.
Bill de Blasio said on Monday night that he had his suspicions that the president swindled his hometown.
Trump paid zero federal income taxes in 10 out of 15 recent years, the New York Times reported.
‘I think we can guarantee based on the information in the New York Times that he hasn’t paid his city taxes the way he should have,’ the mayor said, speaking on NY1.
Donald Trump, pictured on Monday, has been accused of paying only $750 in income taxes
Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York, has said his city’s finance department is investigating
‘Our city finance department will get to work right away to determine if in fact the president of the United States cheated New York City on his taxes.
‘I think it’s a foregone conclusion at this point, given everything we’ve seen from this guy.’
Trump paid just $750 in income tax in 2015 and 2016, the Times reported Sunday.
The president was quick to dismiss the revelations as ‘fake news’, although he was unable to pinpoint specific inaccuracies.
De Blasio described the findings in the Times report as ‘appalling.’
‘I think a lot of his supporters are going to look at this and be very angry,’ he said.
A year ago, in late September 2019, Trump switched his primary residence from New York to Florida, according to documents filed with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
Melania Trump, the first lady, also changed her residence to Palm Beach in an identical document.
Donald Trump has lived in Trump Tower since 1983, but is now registered in Florida
Each of the Trumps filed a ‘declaration of domicile’ saying that the Mar-a-Lago Club, Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, will be their permanent residence.
Florida, which does not have a state income tax or inheritance tax, has long been a place for the wealthy to escape the higher taxes of the Northeast.
By contrast, New York state’s top tax rate is nearly 9 per cent, and New York City’s top rate is nearly 4 per cent.
At the time, however, Trump insisted the relocation was nothing to do with taxes, and was rather a response to the hostility he has faced from the city’s leaders.
‘They haven’t treated me properly,’ he said.
‘I pay millions of taxes. Millions and millions of dollars in New York and they’ve never treated me, you know, since I became president, they just haven’t treated, I think the office with the kind of respect.’
He then added: ‘I don’t mind paying the taxes. New York is a very expensive place to live.’