Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, likely paid little or no federal income taxes between 2009 and 2016, the New York Times has reported.
Citing confidential financial documents, the paper said they show the use of a tax benefit known as depreciation that lets real estate investors deduct part of the cost of their properties from their taxable income.
Although nothing in the documents suggests Kushner broke the law, it sheds further light on how the President and members of his inner circle go to great lengths to enrich themselves at the expense of the US taxpayer.
Donald Trump still refuses to release details of his personal tax returns which could provide evidence of financial dealings in Russia that he has long-denied.
The effect such documents can have was laid bare in the case against Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, in which it was revealed he had made millions advising the pro-Russian former leader of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych.
The Kushner records reviewed by The New York Times did not expressly state how much Kushner paid in taxes, but included estimates for how much he owed called “income taxes payable” — and how much Kushner paid in expectation of forecasted taxes known as “prepaid taxes.”
The paper said that for most of the years covered, both were listed as zero, but in 2013 Kushner reported income taxes payable of $1.1 million (£0.84m).
The documents were created with Kushner’s cooperation as part of a review of his finances by an institution that was considering lending him money, the Times reported.
Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner’s lawyer Abbe Lowell, told Reuters on Saturday that he would not respond to the newspaper’s assumptions, which he said were “taken from incomplete documents obtained in violation of the law and standard business confidentiality agreements.”
He added, “Always following the advice of numerous attorneys and accountants, Mr. Kushner properly filed and paid all taxes due under the law and regulations.”
Kushner Cos, the family company for which Kushner previously served as chief executive, has been profitable in recent years, the Times said, citing the analysis. Kushner sold his interests in the company to a family trust last year.
The White House and Kushner Cos did not immediately comment Saturday.
The newspaper noted that the 2017 tax rewrite signed by Trump includes provisions that benefit real estate investors.
Mirijanian said that on tax reform efforts, Kushner “followed his approved ethics agreement and has avoided work that would pose any conflict of interest.”
In December, a group of Democratic lawmakers wrote to Kushner, asking whether in his talks with foreign officials he had ever discussed financing for a deeply indebted property in midtown Manhattan, citing concern he was using his position for financial gain.
Kushner Cos said previously it had more than $2.5 billion (£1.9bn) in transactions 2017 and has 12 million square feet under development in New York and New Jersey.
Documents released by the White House in June showed Kushner held assets worth at least $181 million (£137.6m), the Associated Press reported.
The disclosures also show that Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, received at least $82 million (£62.34m) in outside income in 2017