US Presidential Debate 2020: Trump says private investors like him 'don't want to pay tax'

US President Donald Trump said that he paid “millions of dollar in taxes” but declined to reveal the exact amount during the first presidential debate in Cleveland. The first of three scheduled presidential debates was held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland with a limited in-person audience in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The US President has been facing backlash over a New York Times report which claimed Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years, largely because he reported losing much more money than he made. The report further said that Trump paid only $750 in federal taxes the year he was elected and $750 again in his first year in the White House.

Fox News moderator Chris Wallace asked the US President about the report which he had earlier dismissed as “totally fake news.” Trump said that he attempted to avoid taxes, admitting he doesn’t “want to pay tax”. He added that private investors like him “go through the laws” to avoid tax unless “they are stupid”.

"I paid millions of dollars in taxes. Millions of dollars in income tax," he said. 

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Resisting 'dragnet' subpoena

Earlier this month, Trump urged the federal court of appeals to block the enforcement of "dragnet" subpoena by Manhattan's top prosecutor for his tax returns. Trump appealed against the US District Judge Victor Marrero’s order to allow the enforcement of the subpoena which will force the US President to disclose eight years of business and personal tax returns from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA.

According to media reports, Trump's lawyers told the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that the lower court judge erred in giving green light to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance for obtaining the tax records to advance a criminal probe into his businesses. Trump has been resisting the subpoena for more than a year and seeking absolute immunity from criminal probe while he remains in the White House.

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