‘I’ve Been Paying Taxes Since 1944’ Warren Buffet Releases Tax Records After Trump Calls Him Out Over Unpaid Taxes During Debate

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet has released detailed information about his income taxes after Donald Trump called him out during Sunday’s presidential debate, NY Times is reporting.

During the debate, Mr. Trump acknowledged for the first time in public that he had avoided paying federal income taxes for close to 20 years after incurring close to a billion dollars in losses in 1995.

Trump had then pivoted attention to the wealthy supporters behind his presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton, alleging that they had also cashed in on loopholes in the tax system. The Manhattan billionaire had called out wealthy Americans, including Warren Buffet. Donald Trump without proof had claimed that Warren Buffet had declared over $873 million in losses and not paid taxes.

“Many of her friends took bigger deductions…Warren Buffet took a massive deduction.”

Buffer released his tax details Monday, confirming that he had been paying income tax every year, since 1944 when he was just 13-years-old.

“I have paid federal income tax every year since 1944 since I was 13… my federal income tax for the year was $1,845,557. Returns for previous years are of a similar nature in respect to contributions, deductions and tax rates.”

Buffet, one of the richest men in the world, confirmed he had “copies of all 72 of my returns…none uses a carry forward,” the option that allows taxpayers like Donald Trump leverage on the losses of a previous year to avoid paying personal federal income taxes on prior tax returns and for future years.

86-year-old Buffet made over $2.85 billion in charitable contributions. The billionaire, who is worth more than $65 billion, would have given more in 2015, but had to respect the tax code restrictions with regard to how much one could give to charitable organizations.

In contrast, Mr. Trump’s own charitable contributions continue to come under unfavorable scrutiny. Recently, the New York attorney general instructed the Donald J. Trump Foundation to stop seeking donations in the state because it did not have the appropriate registration to do so. Investigations have also revealed that the personal donations that Donald Trump credited to himself had actually come from other people.

Buffet explained that his federal income tax payment in 2015 had been $1.8 million after the gross calculation of $11.5 million, which included deductions of $5.5 million and $3.5 million in charitable donations.

Warren Buffet has asked that Trump make his own tax returns public, the Republican candidate has refused to do so thus far, defying a practice that presidential candidates have been privy to, going back 40 years.

Trump has offered a slew of excuses, a major one being that he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has since come out to say that an audit does not hinder Donald Trump from making his federal tax returns public. Warren Buffet buttressed the point saying he was presently being audited when he released his own returns.

“I have been audited by the I.R.S. multiple times and I am currently being audited… I have no problem releasing my tax information while under audit.”

Hillary Clinton has released her own 2015 tax returns, citing that she paid a 34 percent rate for federal tax and a nine percent rate for state tax on a cumulative income of over $10. 5 million. Warren Buffet had consistently criticized the tax laws of the US which allowed him to pay less income tax than his secretary. On her campaign trail, Clinton has proposed taxes on individuals making more than $5 million.

Clinton argues that Trump’s evasion of paying taxes is the perfect example why the tax code needs to change because he is part of a minority who pays “zero in taxes, zero for our vets, zero for our military, zero for health and education.”

Donald Trump incurred his losses in the 90’s after the financial ruin of three Atlantic City casinos, an airline business, and his badly timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.

[ Featured Image by John Peterson/AP Images]