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| US election 2016: Trump 'may have avoided paying tax for 18 years' | US election 2016: Trump 'may have avoided paying tax for 18 years' |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A US newspaper says it has obtained documents showing tycoon Donald Trump declared a loss of more than $900m on his 1995 federal income tax return. | A US newspaper says it has obtained documents showing tycoon Donald Trump declared a loss of more than $900m on his 1995 federal income tax return. |
| The New York Times says the loss was so large it may have enabled the Republican candidate to avoid paying tax for up to 18 years legally. | The New York Times says the loss was so large it may have enabled the Republican candidate to avoid paying tax for up to 18 years legally. |
| His campaign has refused to publish his tax returns and neither confirmed nor denied the scale of his losses. | His campaign has refused to publish his tax returns and neither confirmed nor denied the scale of his losses. |
| Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has made much of his tax record. | Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has made much of his tax record. |
| During an acrimonious first presidential debate on Monday, she forced him on to the defensive for not releasing his tax returns, suggesting that he was hiding "something terrible". | During an acrimonious first presidential debate on Monday, she forced him on to the defensive for not releasing his tax returns, suggesting that he was hiding "something terrible". |
| When Mrs Clinton accused him of not paying federal income tax, Mr Trump replied: "That makes me smart." | When Mrs Clinton accused him of not paying federal income tax, Mr Trump replied: "That makes me smart." |
| Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter | |
| During last Monday's debate Donald Trump said that if he avoided paying income taxes it meant he's "smart". If the documents obtained by the New York Times are legitimate, the Republican nominee may have been brilliant for up to 18 years. | |
| There's no evidence at this point that Mr Trump did anything improper. Just because it's legal, however, doesn't mean this revelation isn't potentially damaging. First, Mr Trump has staked his campaign on being a savvy businessman, and posting a financial loss so large that his tax accountant's software couldn't process the number may undermine that claim. | |
| Then there's the fact that Mr Trump has, over the years, condemned prominent Americans, including Barack Obama and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, for not paying enough taxes. Now he looks like a hypocrite. | |
| Hotel impresario Leona Helmsley once famously said that "only little people pay taxes" - and she was excoriated for it. Americans know the wealthy have a multitude of ways to avoid taxes. Knowing is different from seeing the cold, hard evidence, however. At the very least, this latest revelation once again puts Mr Trump on his heels in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. | |
| Mrs Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years' worth while Mr Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns. | Mrs Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years' worth while Mr Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns. |
| 'Highly skilled businessman' | 'Highly skilled businessman' |
| In its story, the New York Times says the three pages of documents were sent last month to one of its reporters who had written about Mr Trump's finances. | In its story, the New York Times says the three pages of documents were sent last month to one of its reporters who had written about Mr Trump's finances. |
| A former accountant for the property tycoon, Jack Mitnick, whose name appears as Mr Trump's tax preparer of the filings, said the documents appeared to be authentic copies of portions of the 1995 returns, according to the newspaper. | A former accountant for the property tycoon, Jack Mitnick, whose name appears as Mr Trump's tax preparer of the filings, said the documents appeared to be authentic copies of portions of the 1995 returns, according to the newspaper. |
| Mr Trump appeared to shrug off the report in Sunday, tweeting: "I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them." | |
| But on Saturday, his campaign had accused the New York Times of being "an extension of the Clinton campaign". | |
| Mr Trump, the campaign added, was a "highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required. | Mr Trump, the campaign added, was a "highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required. |
| "That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions." | "That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions." |
| Since 1976, every major US party presidential nominee has released tax returns. | Since 1976, every major US party presidential nominee has released tax returns. |