Trump reported losses in core businesses including casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings, the New York Times said on Tuesday, citing official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax transcripts that were obtained.
READ MORE: 'Lacks Legitimate Legislative Purpose': Mnuchin Won't Release Trump Tax Returns
Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years, the report added. However, the significant losses did not cost him his standard of living because most of the money was borrowed, and moreover, he was buffered by his father's wealth, according to the NY Times report.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a letter to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said Monday he would not release Donald Trump's tax returns as requested by the panel.
"In reliance on the advice of the Department of Justice, I have determined that the Committee's request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose, and pursuant to section 6103, the Department is therefore not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information", Mnuchin said in the letter to the US House of Representative Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal.
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White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said earlier in an interview with Fox News that this demand was a stunt and vowed that Congressional Democrats would never see Trump's tax records.
Congressional Democrats have long been trying to force Trump to provide his tax returns, but the US president has repeatedly stated the documents were being audited by the Internal Revenue Service and thus could not be released.
READ MORE: US House Ways and Means Committee Requests Trump's Tax Returns From IRS