WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged taking massive tax write offs for real estate losses topping $1 billion from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, calling it “sport” among developers like himself during that period.
Trump was reacting to a New York Times report Tuesday that his businesses lost more than $1 billion from 1985 to 1994. The newspaper said its reporting was based on printouts it acquired of Trump’s official IRS tax transcripts, including figures from his federal tax form.
Trump reported business losses of $46.1 million in 1985, and a total of $1.17 billion in losses for the 10-year period.
The president appeared to defend his actions in a pair of tweets early Wednesday.
“Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases,” Trump tweeted. He contended the reported losses were “non monetary.”