Tax records reveal Trump’s bank account, business dealings in China: report
- New York Times analysis shows the US president tried for a decade to get Chinese projects off the ground
- Account with unnamed bank controlled by Trump company and paid local taxes between 2013 and 2015
An analysis of Trump’s tax records by The Times showed he maintained bank accounts in just three foreign countries – China, Britain and Ireland. The foreign accounts do not show up on the president’s public financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets, because they are held under corporate names.
The Chinese account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management, which tax records show paid US$188,561 in taxes in China while pursuing licensing deals there from 2013 to 2015.
Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told The Times the company had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes” associated with efforts to do business there. He refused to name the bank but said the company had opened the account after establishing an office in China “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia”.
“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialised and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” Garten said. “Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose.”
The report pointed out that, in contrast, Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s public financial disclosures and voluntarily released income tax returns showed no income or business dealings in China.