Report: Trump's tax write-offs range from Trump Jr.'s Russia-related legal fees to Apprentice haircuts
President Trump's tax filings show that since 2015, business has been booming at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, thanks to an influx in new members and an initiation fee increase that went into effect when Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, The New York Times reports, citing Trump tax records covering more than two decades.
The Times found that when Trump announced he was running for president in 2015, Mar-a-Lago became inundated with new members. In 2014, the club earned $664,000 in initiation fees, and that number went up to just under $6 million in 2016; in January 2017, Trump doubled the cost of initiation.
The Internal Revenue Service says that for a business expense to be deducted, it must be "ordinary and necessary." Business expenses at Mar-a-Lago for 2017 included $109,433 for linens and silver, $197,829 for landscaping, and $210,000 for event photography. The tax returns also show Trump has written off expenses related to travel from his different homes and properties, including meals and aircraft fuel, as well as grooming costs — he wrote off the more than $70,000 he spent on his hair while working on his reality show The Apprentice, the Times reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The IRS says legal fees can be deducted when they are "directly related to operating your business," but this does not include "legal fees paid to defend charges that arise from participation in a political campaign." Nevertheless, Trump's tax records show the Trump Corporation wrote off business expenses paid to Alan Futerfas, a criminal defense lawyer who was hired to represent Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., during the inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the Times reports.
This was in relation to investigators looking into Trump Jr.'s role in setting up a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower where Russians promised to provide damaging information on Hillary Clinton, and when Trump Jr. testified before Congress in 2017, Futerfas was with him. Futerfas, who additionally represented Trump's now-shuttered charitable foundation, received at least $1.9 million in 2017 and 2018 from the Trump Corporation, the Times reports, and the business also wrote off the $259,684 it paid Williams & Jensen, a second law firm hired to represent Trump Jr. Read more at The New York Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The issue of women and conscription
Under the radar Ukraine military adviser hints at widening draft to women, as other countries weigh defence options amid global insecurity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
AI is causing concern among the LGBTQ community
In the Spotlight One critic believes that AI will 'always fail LGBTQ people'
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Modern presidents exercise power undreamed of by the Founding Fathers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?
Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress honors real-life Rosie the Riveters
Speed Read These American women reshaped the work force during World War II
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Outgunned Ukraine could fall, US general warns
Speed Read Without more US aid, Ukraine is at risk of losing the war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
House GOP scuttles FISA vote at Trump's urging
Speed Read Right-wing lawmakers blocked Speaker Mike Johnson's surveillance bill
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How green onions could swing South Korea's election
The Explainer Country's president has fallen foul of the oldest trick in the campaign book, not knowing the price of groceries
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published