Subject: FW: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.
From: "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
To: "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 09:06:54 -0700

________________________________
From: Graham, Caroline
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 12:06:54 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: Miller, Lindsey; Dillon, Lauren; Bauer, Nick; Roberts, Kelly; Sarge, Matthew
Cc: Brinster, Jeremy; Dieter, Austin
Subject: RE: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

Brinster – do we have any boomerang here?

These are the specifics on 78/79. As long as Brinster doesn’t see a flag, then I’d like to round all of this up in a doc, but tighten up the frame a bit and make sure we’re driving the “Trump’s always in it for himself” narrative. That should help downplay his call for higher taxes on the wealthy (non-real estate) folks.

Trump Paid No Taxes Due to Losses on Rental Properties.  A Division of Gaming Enforcement report from October 1981 stated: “The Division notes that in 1978 and 1979 Trump incurred no federal income tax liability. In 1979, the lack of such liability is primarily attributable to losses incurred by Trump in the operation of rental properties located at Third Avenue, Fifth Avenue, East 56th Street, East 57th Street, East 6lst Street and East 62nd Street, New York City, New York. The expenses for the operation of the aforesaid rental properties were actual cash disbursements as reflected in Trump's cash disbursements journal. The foregoing losses were also traced to interest due on amounts owed to Fred C. Trump and Chase Manhattan Bank during 1978 and 1979. Additionally, Trump incurred losses during 1978 and 1979 in the operations of the Park Briar Associates, Regency-Lexington Partners and 220 Prospect Street Company, partnerships in which Trump has an interest.”  [Division of Gaming Enforcement Report to the Casino Control Commission, 10/16/81]

From: Miller, Lindsey
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:56 AM
To: Graham, Caroline; Dillon, Lauren; Bauer, Nick; Roberts, Kelly; Sarge, Matthew
Subject: RE: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

This instead, Sarge sent me more:

TRUMP CLAIMED THE 1986 TAX REFORM LAW “DECIMATED AND DESTROYED” THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY, CITING SPECIFICALLY THE PASSIVE LOSS RULE

Trump Said The 1986 Tax Reform Law “Decimated And Destroyed” The Real Estate Industry By Limiting Passive Losses. “Trump believes it the lack of a strong, cohesive lobbying effort that allowed the passage of the 1986 Tax Reform Law that limited passive losses. ‘This industry has been decimated and destroyed by the 1986 tax law,’ he complained. And for that, he said, the real estate industry should be ashamed of itself.” [Real Estate Weekly, 5/20/92]

The Passive Loss Rule For Real Estate Investments Allowed Developers Of Failed Buildings To Make Money By Taking Tax Write-Offs. “One of the most abused tax shelters of recent decades was the ‘passive loss rule’ for real estate investments. It allowed developers of failed buildings to make money on their failures by taking huge tax write-offs. The loophole encouraged the overbuilding of the 1980's: the empty offices and malls that still depress the real estate market.” [New York Times, 6/4/92]

The Passive Loss Loophole Was Closed In 1986 As A Trade Off For Tax Cuts For The Wealthy. “The ‘passive loss’ loophole was closed in the 1986 Reagan tax reform. It was a trade-off for the drastic cuts in tax rates on higher incomes.” [New York Times, 6/4/92]

Trump On The 1986 Tax Reform Law: “It’s Pretty Unfair. You Make A Deal Predicated On Certain Tax Law And Then They Change The They Changed The Rules.” TRUMP: “I think you better save the real estate now. I can tell you I buy things, I bought things that were great deals in the middle 80s and the and even the later 80s but when that tax law really kicked in, all of a sudden those deals which were good economic deals were no longer good economic deals, because they changed the game on me and they changed the game and everybody else. It’s pretty unfair. You make a deal predicated on certain tax law and then they change the they changed the rules.” [Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

TRUMP ASKED CONGRESS TO RESTORE TAX BREAKS FOR THE PASSIVE-LOSS RULE

Donald Trump Testified That The 1986 Tax Law Removed Investment Incentives By Eliminating Tax Shelters. “Donald J. Trump, whose personal financial empire has suffered major reversals, told a congressional committee Thursday that what this country needs are higher taxes for the wealthy and generous tax shelters…’People don't have the incentive to invest,’ the New York real estate investor and Atlantic City casino owner told a House Budget Committee task force. He said the incentive to invest was taken away with the 1986 tax law, which lowered tax rates and eliminated tax shelters… At the same time, Trump said, tax shelters should be restored to provide tax breaks for those who invest. ‘The word tax shelter is like junk bond,’ he said. ‘A bad-sounding word even though it isn't necessarily a bad thing.’” [Los Angeles Times, 11/22/91; Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

Associated Press: Trump “Pleaded With Congress To Restore Tax Breaks For The Kind Of Risky Ventures That Made Him Famous.” “Donald Trump, the most familiar of all business celebrities, also was humbled in '91, by trouble in his love life as well as his once-artful deals. He dumped Ivana for Marla, who hurled her engagement ring at him in a December spat. Even worse, he was forced to surrender many business jewels, including the airline that carried his name even higher than his skyscrapers. He begged Marla for forgiveness and pleaded with Congress to restore tax breaks for the kind of risky ventures that made him famous.” [Associated Press, 12/28/91]

Trump Did Not Think The Addition Of Passive-Loss Deductions Was Enough Of A Cure For The “Ridiculous Situation That They've Put Developers And Insurance Companies And Banks In.” “Bush proposed repealing part of the 1986 tax reform law so developers could deduct real estate losses from profits on other sources of income. But the so-called passive-loss deductions, which would need approval from Congress, are limited to developers. Before 1986, they applied to anyone investing in real estate. ‘It's only a partial cure to a ridiculous situation that they've put developers and insurance companies and banks in,’ said developer Donald Trump. ‘The passive laws have been a disaster, because they take away all the incentive to investing in real estate. It's killing construction jobs.’" [Newsday, 1/30/92]

Trump: “The Word Tax-Shelter Is Like The Word Junk-Bond. It’s A Very Bad Sounding Word Even Though It Isn’t Necessarily A Bad Thing.” TRUMP: “A lot of the problems that you’ve experienced are because of the fact that some very foolish people, in order to save a small amount of money because they heard the word tax-sheltered and they thought the word tax shelter was a bad thing, as opposed to saying it’s an investment in real estate... I mean an investment in low income housing they call a tax-shelter and the word tax-shelter is like the word junk-bond. It’s a very bad sounding word even though it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They heard the word tax-sheltered and politically they didn't like that word and they said ‘Let’s get rid of tax shelters.’ When they got rid of tax shelters, they got rid of people investing in low and moderate income housing and lots of other good things and I think you have to go back.” [Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

TRUMP WANTED TO REINSTATE THE PASSIVE LOSS PROVISION WHILE RAISING TAXES ON HIGH-INCOME INDIVIDUALS

Trump Testified That The Government Should Reinstate The Passive Loss Provision In The Tax Code, And Make Up The Revenue With Higher Marginal Rates On High-Income People. REP ROGERS: “We're operating under the budget act, the budget agreement so that which has a pay go provision, pay as you go. If you reduce taxes, you gotta make up the revenue somewhere else, so we have a revenue neutral action. Are you saying that if we reinstate the passive loss provision, were going to have some lost revenues because of that. Am I hearing you say that you would increase the complete income tax rates of the higher income people?” TRUMP: “Yes sir. I would do that because I believe strongly that people don’t have enough incentive to invest right now at 25%. I just don’t believe they have enough incentive to take the risk of investment, with recapture and all of the other problems of investing in real estate and other things. I would absolutely do that with the understanding that if they do make the investments, they can go down to the minimum level. I feel very strongly about that, as far as the $5 billion and were talking about that $5 billion in loss of taxes may contribute $100 billion because of the incentives that it gets. I don't look at that as a loss in taxes. I think that so much work could be created by getting rid of that horror show, that you may take in 100. An account will tell you well we're going to lose $5 billion, but in actuality it could spur hundreds of billions of dollars worth of work.” [Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

Trump On How High The Top Marginal Tax Rate Should Be: “The Higher It Is, The More Incentive There Would Be.” TRUMP: “I think would be a big help for the upper income taxpayer to have incentive rather than paying taxes to invest. I think that the accelerated depreciation depreciation schedules being shortened would be a tremendous help for the obvious reason, that you’d be able to get ...Assuming the active passive and assuming the right to syndicate, you’d be able to get investors to come into real estate transactions”… QUESTION: “How much higher do you that you would have to take the top tax bracket in order to make this happen?” TRUMP: “The higher it is, the more incentive there would be. I guess it was 15 was 60 at one point and was obviously even higher than that but the higher it is, the more incentive and out of me middle income and enemy low-income, if anything that could be stay the same will be lowered. I’m talking about the people that are making a great deal of money should have an incentive to invest and I know it was 50 and I’m talking about a substantial increase with the ability to get it down to the minimum number.” [Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

Trump Supported The Rule That Allowed People To Leverage Their Returns On Syndicated Projects By Writing Off Losses Below The Actual Cash Investment. QUESTION: “Obviously you operated master our skill and I did when I involve robust and real estate development, but usually when we syndicated a project, what drew the participants a limited partner to the syndication was not just a pass-through of losses, but the fact that they can leverage their returns by writing off losses below the actual cash investment. Do you think that’s a good rule and should continue?” TRUMP: “I think it’s a rule that works in terms of getting people started and it certainly had an effect and it can be limited to an if need be. Right now we don’t need limits, we need action because if there's not action you're not going to have an industry, you're not going to have a real estate industry and I’m really talking to a large extent, because you we talk about the overbuilding done during the 80s. I'm really talking about things that are existing not just the new construction things that are existing because you cannot get financing for any building no matter how good it is, no matter how good your tenant is, you can not get financing for it under any circumstances, anybody it has real estate associated with it you cannot get financing, and that’s a pretty pathetic situation.” [Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

TRUMP REPEATEDLY CLAIMED THE TAX REFORM BILL DESTROYED THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Trump Said 1986 Destroyed The Real Estate Industry Because “The Government In 1986 Passed The Dumbest Tax Law Ever Thought Of By Man.” MR. TRUMP: “They destroyed- In 1986 they destroyed the real estate industry.  That was the problems I had and everybody else in the country had.  I mean, people like to focus on mine but they really- Everybody had the same problems.  And they really have destroyed a great industry, and you're talking about an industry- You build a home, you buy a refrigerator, a this, a that, furniture, carpeting.  There are no homes being built, there are no apartments being built, there's no low-income housing. The Government in 1986 passed the dumbest tax law ever thought of by man.  They destroyed the savings and loan institutions because of the real estate.  The insurance companies and banks are going to be next.  And if they don't put incentive back into real estate you're going to have a catastrophe in this country like you've never seen before.” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

Trump: “In 1986, They Destroyed The Real Estate Industry, Stupidly, And They Thought They Were Saving Something On Taxes.” TRUMP: “Real estate triggers everything.  When you build a house - again, refrigerators, carpeting, this, this, this.  It affects so many different things and, in 1986, they destroyed the real estate industry, stupidly, and they thought they were saving something on taxes.  In the meantime, the savings and loans are going to cost trillions of dollars to save.” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

Trump Said He Knew When The 1986 Tax Bill Passed The Real Estate Industry Was Going To Be In Big Trouble. KING: “Did you know it right then when they changed?” Mr. TRUMP: “Oh, I knew the real estate industry was going to be in big trouble.  I also knew at that time, in 1986, when they stupidly changed the tax laws-” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

Trump: “The 1986 Tax Law Change Was A Total Disaster.” TRUMP: “At the same time, the 1986 tax law change was a total disaster. It was dumb.  It was expensive.  It cost the United States billions and billions of dollars.  And it was foolish.  I mean you had some senators that had no idea what they were doing when they passed that. And it shouldn't have happened.  RTC was created.  Trillions of dollars in property were just thrown out, thrown out the window and bought for very little money by some very smart people.  And it should have never happened.” [Evans & Novak, CNN, 12/27/97]

·         Trump Said That The 1986 Tax Reform Act Destroyed The Real Estate Industry And The Savings And Loans Institutions. TRUMP: “The Government in 1986 passed the dumbest tax law ever thought of by man.  They destroyed the savings and loan institutions because of the real estate.  The insurance companies and banks are going to be next.  And if they don't put incentive back into real estate you're going to have a catastrophe in this country like you've never seen before.” KING: “The 'they,' though, is your party?” TRUMP: “Politicians.” KING: “The Republican Party?” TRUMP: “Well, I don't say the Republicans.  I mean, I guess it takes both parties to pass it, but they destroyed the real estate industry and this is why your unemployment is so high.  This is why your manufacturing is so low.  Real estate triggers everything.  When you build a house - again, refrigerators, carpeting, this, this, this.  It affects so many different things and, in 1986, they destroyed the real estate industry, stupidly, and they thought they were saving something on taxes.  In the meantime, the savings and loans are going to cost trillions of dollars to save.” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

·         Donald Trump: The Biggest Mistake Ever Made Was The Tax Bill Passed In 1986 Which Destroyed Banks, Real Estate Companies And Everything Else.” “Mr. Trump insists he is still a major player. His personal debt, he says, is now down to a mere $80 million. ‘It's sort of amazing what I've done,’ he muses. ‘People are gonzo. You say it's my fault or not, but - hey - the economy totally crashed in 1990. The biggest mistake ever made was the tax bill passed in 1986 which destroyed banks, real estate companies and everything else. Many of those people aren't around anymore.’" [Washington Times, 4/18/95]

From: Miller, Lindsey
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:53 AM
To: Graham, Caroline; Dillon, Lauren; Bauer, Nick; Roberts, Kelly; Sarge, Matthew
Subject: RE: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

I think the passive loss rule is what allowed him to not pay taxes

TRUMP CLAIMED THE 1986 TAX REFORM LAW “DECIMATED AND DESTROYED” THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY, CITING SPECIFICALLY THE PASSIVE LOSS RULE

Trump Said The 1986 Tax Reform Law “Decimated And Destroyed” The Real Estate Industry By Limiting Passive Losses. “Trump believes it the lack of a strong, cohesive lobbying effort that allowed the passage of the 1986 Tax Reform Law that limited passive losses. ‘This industry has been decimated and destroyed by the 1986 tax law,’ he complained. And for that, he said, the real estate industry should be ashamed of itself.” [Real Estate Weekly, 5/20/92]

The Passive Loss Rule For Real Estate Investments Allowed Developers Of Failed Buildings To Make Money By Taking Tax Write-Offs. “One of the most abused tax shelters of recent decades was the ‘passive loss rule’ for real estate investments. It allowed developers of failed buildings to make money on their failures by taking huge tax write-offs. The loophole encouraged the overbuilding of the 1980's: the empty offices and malls that still depress the real estate market.” [New York Times, 6/4/92]

The Passive Loss Loophole Was Closed In 1986 As A Trade Off For Tax Cuts For The Wealthy. “The ‘passive loss’ loophole was closed in the 1986 Reagan tax reform. It was a trade-off for the drastic cuts in tax rates on higher incomes.” [New York Times, 6/4/92]

TRUMP ASKED CONGRESS TO RESTORE TAX BREAKS FOR THE PASSIVE-LOSS RULE

Donald Trump Testified That The 1986 Tax Law Removed Investment Incentives By Eliminating Tax Shelters. “Donald J. Trump, whose personal financial empire has suffered major reversals, told a congressional committee Thursday that what this country needs are higher taxes for the wealthy and generous tax shelters…’People don't have the incentive to invest,’ the New York real estate investor and Atlantic City casino owner told a House Budget Committee task force. He said the incentive to invest was taken away with the 1986 tax law, which lowered tax rates and eliminated tax shelters… At the same time, Trump said, tax shelters should be restored to provide tax breaks for those who invest. ‘The word tax shelter is like junk bond,’ he said. ‘A bad-sounding word even though it isn't necessarily a bad thing.’” [Los Angeles Times, 11/22/91; Hearing, House Budget Subcommittee on Urgent Fiscal Issues, 11/21/91]

Associated Press: Trump “Pleaded With Congress To Restore Tax Breaks For The Kind Of Risky Ventures That Made Him Famous.” “Donald Trump, the most familiar of all business celebrities, also was humbled in '91, by trouble in his love life as well as his once-artful deals. He dumped Ivana for Marla, who hurled her engagement ring at him in a December spat. Even worse, he was forced to surrender many business jewels, including the airline that carried his name even higher than his skyscrapers. He begged Marla for forgiveness and pleaded with Congress to restore tax breaks for the kind of risky ventures that made him famous.” [Associated Press, 12/28/91]

Trump Did Not Think The Addition Of Passive-Loss Deductions Was Enough Of A Cure For The “Ridiculous Situation That They've Put Developers And Insurance Companies And Banks In.” “Bush proposed repealing part of the 1986 tax reform law so developers could deduct real estate losses from profits on other sources of income. But the so-called passive-loss deductions, which would need approval from Congress, are limited to developers. Before 1986, they applied to anyone investing in real estate. ‘It's only a partial cure to a ridiculous situation that they've put developers and insurance companies and banks in,’ said developer Donald Trump. ‘The passive laws have been a disaster, because they take away all the incentive to investing in real estate. It's killing construction jobs.’" [Newsday, 1/30/92]

TRUMP REPEATEDLY CLAIMED THE TAX REFORM BILL DESTROYED THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Trump Said 1986 Destroyed The Real Estate Industry Because “The Government In 1986 Passed The Dumbest Tax Law Ever Thought Of By Man.” MR. TRUMP: “They destroyed- In 1986 they destroyed the real estate industry.  That was the problems I had and everybody else in the country had.  I mean, people like to focus on mine but they really- Everybody had the same problems.  And they really have destroyed a great industry, and you're talking about an industry- You build a home, you buy a refrigerator, a this, a that, furniture, carpeting.  There are no homes being built, there are no apartments being built, there's no low-income housing. The Government in 1986 passed the dumbest tax law ever thought of by man.  They destroyed the savings and loan institutions because of the real estate.  The insurance companies and banks are going to be next.  And if they don't put incentive back into real estate you're going to have a catastrophe in this country like you've never seen before.” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

Trump: “In 1986, They Destroyed The Real Estate Industry, Stupidly, And They Thought They Were Saving Something On Taxes.” TRUMP: “Real estate triggers everything.  When you build a house - again, refrigerators, carpeting, this, this, this.  It affects so many different things and, in 1986, they destroyed the real estate industry, stupidly, and they thought they were saving something on taxes.  In the meantime, the savings and loans are going to cost trillions of dollars to save.” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

Trump Said He Knew When The 1986 Tax Bill Passed The Real Estate Industry Was Going To Be In Big Trouble. KING: “Did you know it right then when they changed?” Mr. TRUMP: “Oh, I knew the real estate industry was going to be in big trouble.  I also knew at that time, in 1986, when they stupidly changed the tax laws-” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

Trump: “The 1986 Tax Law Change Was A Total Disaster.” TRUMP: “At the same time, the 1986 tax law change was a total disaster. It was dumb.  It was expensive.  It cost the United States billions and billions of dollars.  And it was foolish.  I mean you had some senators that had no idea what they were doing when they passed that. And it shouldn't have happened.  RTC was created.  Trillions of dollars in property were just thrown out, thrown out the window and bought for very little money by some very smart people.  And it should have never happened.” [Evans & Novak, CNN, 12/27/97]

·         Trump Said That The 1986 Tax Reform Act Destroyed The Real Estate Industry And The Savings And Loans Institutions. TRUMP: “The Government in 1986 passed the dumbest tax law ever thought of by man.  They destroyed the savings and loan institutions because of the real estate.  The insurance companies and banks are going to be next.  And if they don't put incentive back into real estate you're going to have a catastrophe in this country like you've never seen before.” KING: “The 'they,' though, is your party?” TRUMP: “Politicians.” KING: “The Republican Party?” TRUMP: “Well, I don't say the Republicans.  I mean, I guess it takes both parties to pass it, but they destroyed the real estate industry and this is why your unemployment is so high.  This is why your manufacturing is so low.  Real estate triggers everything.  When you build a house - again, refrigerators, carpeting, this, this, this.  It affects so many different things and, in 1986, they destroyed the real estate industry, stupidly, and they thought they were saving something on taxes.  In the meantime, the savings and loans are going to cost trillions of dollars to save.” [Larry King Live, CNN, 11/19/91]

·         Donald Trump: The Biggest Mistake Ever Made Was The Tax Bill Passed In 1986 Which Destroyed Banks, Real Estate Companies And Everything Else.” “Mr. Trump insists he is still a major player. His personal debt, he says, is now down to a mere $80 million. ‘It's sort of amazing what I've done,’ he muses. ‘People are gonzo. You say it's my fault or not, but - hey - the economy totally crashed in 1990. The biggest mistake ever made was the tax bill passed in 1986 which destroyed banks, real estate companies and everything else. Many of those people aren't around anymore.’" [Washington Times, 4/18/95]

From: Palermo, Rachel
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:41 AM
To: Crystal, Andy; Walker, Eric
Cc: Miranda, Luis; Berns, Jeremy; Comm_D
Subject: RE: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

Thanks andy I shall blast

--
[DNC]<http://www.democrats.org/>
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>
202-863-8041

From: Crystal, Andy
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:39 AM
To: Walker, Eric
Cc: Miranda, Luis; Berns, Jeremy; Comm_D
Subject: Re: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

Good

Sent from my iPhone

On May 20, 2016, at 10:22 AM, Walker, Eric <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:
Research?

From: Miranda, Luis
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:22 AM
To: Walker, Eric; Berns, Jeremy; Comm_D
Subject: RE: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

Deadbeat Donald!
Love it.
________________________________
From: Walker, Eric
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:21 AM
To: Berns, Jeremy; Comm_D
Subject: RE: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.
Wow. Could blast this out too.

SL: BREAKING: New report shows Deadbeat Donald didn't pay a dime in tax

Key point:

The only window into Trump’s handling of his income taxes came during the 1981 New Jersey report after Trump’s application for a casino license.

State records show that Trump claimed that his combined income in 1978 and 1979 was negative $3.8 million, allowing him to pay no taxes. A few years earlier, he had told the New York Times he was worth more than $200 million.

From: Berns, Jeremy
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 10:04 AM
To: Comm_D
Subject: WaPo: Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.

Trump’s income tax returns once became public. They showed he didn’t pay a cent.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-income-tax-returns-once-became-public-they-showed-he-didnt-pay-a-cent/2016/05/20/ffa2f63c-1b7c-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html?postshare=9681463752309652&tid=ss_tw>

By Drew Harwell May 20 at 9:45 AM

The last time Donald Trump’s income-tax returns were made public, the bottom line was striking: He had paid the federal government $0 in income taxes.

The disclosure, in a 1981 report by New Jersey gambling regulators, revealed that the wealthy Manhattan investor had for at least two years in the late 1970s taken advantage of a tax-code provision popular with developers that allowed him to report negative income.

Today, as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump regularly denounces corporate executives for using loopholes and “false deductions” to “get away with murder” when it comes to avoiding taxes.

“They make a fortune. They pay no tax,” Trump said last year on CBS. “It’s ridiculous, okay?”

The contrast highlights a potentially awkward challenge for Trump.

He has built a political identity around his reputation as a financial whiz, even bragging about his ability to game the tax code to pay as little as possible to the government — a practice he has called the “American way.” Moreover, he has aggressively pursued tax breaks and other government supports to bolster his real estate empire. But that history threatens to collide with his efforts to woo working-class voters who resent that they often pay higher tax rates than the wealthy who benefit from special loopholes.

Trump’s personal taxes are a mystery. He has refused to release any recent returns, meaning the public cannot see how much money he makes, how much he gives to charity and how aggressively he uses deductions, shelters and other tactics to shrink his tax bill.

Trump, who said last week on ABC that his tax rate is “none of your business,” would be the first major party nominee in 40 years to not release his returns.

In an interview this week, Trump said that he has paid “substantial” taxes but declined to provide specifics.

He reiterated that he fights “very hard to pay as little tax as possible.”

“One of the reasons is because the government takes your money and wastes it in the Middle East and all over the place,” he said.

Trump’s contradictory approaches have been apparent for years.

He criticized the 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, for delaying the release of his returns. Romney, a former private-equity executive, had come under fire for paying a low tax rate because most of his income came from investments.

“It’s a great thing when you can show that you’ve been successful, and that you’ve made a lot of money,” Trump said at the time.

Romney eventually released returns showing that, for his 2011 taxes, he chose not to take certain deductions, bringing his tax rate more in line with that of average Americans.

Trump, early in his campaign, seemed ready to give voters a look at his tax filings.

In January, he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was ready to disclose his “very big . . . very beautiful” returns.

But as his campaign gained momentum, Trump backed away from his promise. He first claimed that ongoing audits by the Internal Revenue Service prevent disclosure.

Then last week, he told the Associated Press that voters are not interested in seeing his tax filings and that “there’s nothing to learn from them.”

Trump’s new position has unnerved some tax experts, who see value in the tradition of transparency by presidential contenders.

“At some point, he could be the tax-collector-in-chief. He’d supervise the IRS, making sure all of us live up to our own tax responsibilities,” said Joe Thorndike, a director at Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that specializes in tax policy. “People deserve to know . . . how a person like that plays the game.”

Trump’s stance has become an issue in the campaign.

Romney said on Facebook last week that refusing to release the returns should be “disqualifying” for any nominee and speculated that Trump’s returns could be hiding a “bombshell of unusual size.”

Trump’s likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, who has disclosed decades of tax returns, released a 60-second ad last week asking, “What’s Donald Trump hiding?”

“You’ve got to ask yourself: ‘Why doesn’t he want to release it?’ ” Clinton said at a New Jersey rally last week. “Yeah, well, we’re gonna find out.”

Bob McIntyre of the liberal group Citizens for Tax Justice suspects Trump’s tax returns, if made public, would undermine the political image the candidate has crafted of a brilliant businessman with what his campaign has called “tremendous cash flow.”

Trump may be worried that “he’d show very little income on his tax returns compared to his wealth claims,” McIntyre said, adding that Trump’s returns could also show that he “writes off everything he has in his life — the hairdo, the plane — as business expenses.”

Trump has repeatedly said that he would be open to sharing his returns. In 2011, he said he would release them after Barack Obama released his long-form birth certificate but never did after the certificate’s release. In 2014, he said he would “absolutely” release them “if I decide to run for office.” Last year, he said he would release them when “we find out the true story on Hillary’s emails.”

To back his refusal, Trump has released a letter from his tax lawyers that said his tax returns had been audited by the IRS since 2002, and that audits on the returns since 2009 were still underway.

The lawyers’ letter also said returns from 2002 to 2008 had been closed administratively by the IRS, meaning their audits had been completed. Trump said in an interview he would still not release those returns because “they’re all linked.”

But experts say that Trump is free to release his tax records. President Richard Nixon released his returns while under audit. Nothing, including an audit, “prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information,” an IRS spokesman said.

The only window into Trump’s handling of his income taxes came during the 1981 New Jersey report after Trump’s application for a casino license.

State records show that Trump claimed that his combined income in 1978 and 1979 was negative $3.8 million, allowing him to pay no taxes. A few years earlier, he had told the New York Times he was worth more than $200 million.

Tax analysts say it is possible that Trump pays very low income taxes, or no taxes at all, using tactics available to wealthy investors and developers, such as depreciating the value of real estate.

When asked this week whether he pays income taxes, Trump said, “I will give that to you as soon as I get my audit finished.” He added later, “But with that being said, when you’re in the real estate business, you do have certain tax advantages.”

Trump has benefited from public money by aggressively seeking large tax reductions at developments including Trump Tower.

His first major development, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in midtown Manhattan built in partnership with Chicago’s wealthy Pritzker family, was made possible with the help of a New York City tax subsidy worth $400 million over 40 years, according to city records.

It was New York’s first-ever tax abatement for a commercial property, secured by Trump with help from his developer father’s political allies, according to “The Deals and the Downfall,” a biography on Trump’s developments by investigative reporter Wayne Barrett.

Trump has defended his use of public tax assistance to boost private projects. He said opponents of such government supports, including some conservatives, are out of touch with reality.

“The true conservative philosophy is that a thing like that shouldn’t happen. But they’re in the world of the make-believe,” Trump said in an interview. “The real world is that without certain tax abatements, you have a choice. The job could get built . . . or you don’t have to have anything. It could just go stagnant, and a town can die.”

Trump’s strategy to ease his company’s tax burden has resulted in sore feelings in some communities, where local governments rely heavily on tax receipts from large businesses.

In Ossining, N.Y., home to a Trump National Golf Club, town officials say that a tax break being sought by the company would cost their coffers more than $200,000 a year.

In seeking the reduction, Trump’s lawyers have claimed that the club is worth far less than the roughly $15 million value assessed by the city.

Trump’s lawyers have filed papers with the state claiming that the “full market value” of the property is $1.4 million. The same golf course appears on Trump’s new financial disclosure form released this week as part of his presidential campaign — valued by him at more than $50 million.

Trump lawyer Alan Garten did not respond to questions about the discrepancy.

Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg, a Democrat, expressed frustration that Trump seemed to be gaining “at other people’s loss.”

“It’s hard to look at someone who talks about their wealth frequently and think they got that successful on other people’s backs,” she said.