Donald Trump paid USD 1,88,561 in taxes to China: Report

President Donald Trump spent a decade unsuccessfully pursuing projects in China operating an office there during his first run for president and forging a partnership with a major governmentcontrolled company The New York Times reported TuesdayChina is one of only three foreign nations the others are Britain and Ireland where Trump maintains a bank account according to a Times analysis of the presidents tax records The foreign accounts do not show up on Trumps public financial disclosures where he must list personal assets because they are held under corporate namesThe Chinese account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management LLC which the tax records show paid USD 188561 in taxes in China while pursuing licensing deals there from 2013 to 2015 In response to questions from The Times Alan Garten a lawyer for the Trump Organization said 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 thereHe 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 materialized and since 2015 the office has remained inactive Garten saidThough the bank account remains open it has never been used for any other purpose Garten would not identify the bank in China where the account is held China continues to be an issue in the 2020 presidential campaign from the presidents trade war to his barbs over the origin of the coronavirus pandemic His campaign has tried to portray former Vice President Joe Biden as misreading the dangers posed by Chinas growing powerTrump has also sought to tar his opponent with overblown or unsubstantiated assertions about Hunter Bidens business dealings there while his father was in office As for the former vice president his public financial disclosures along with the income tax returns he voluntarily released show no income or business dealings of his own in ChinaHowever there is ample evidence of Trumps efforts to do business there As with Russia where he explored hotel and tower projects in Moscow without success Trump has long sought a licensing deal in China His efforts go at least as far back as 2006 when he filed trademark applications in Hong Kong and the mainlandMany Chinese government approvals came after he became president In 2008 Trump pursued an office tower project in Guangzhou that never got off the ground But his efforts accelerated in 2012 with the opening of a Shanghai office and tax records show that one of Trumps Chinarelated companies THC China Development LLC claimed USD 84000 in deductions that year for travel costs legal fees and office expensesThe Times said Trumps tax records show that he has invested at least USD 192000 in five small companies created specifically to pursue projects in China over the years Those companies claimed at least 97400 in business expenses since 2010 including some minor payments for taxes and accounting fees as recently as 2018 the Times reportedKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new mid day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever