New York Times: Trump holds bank accounts in China

United States President Donald Trump holds a Chinese bank account and spent years pursuing business interests in the mainland China, according to the NY Times. The account is managed by Trump International Hotels Management which also paid local taxes from 2013 to 2015.

The account, as per Trump’s spokesman was opened “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia”. The Republican has been critical of US businesses operating in or from China and went as far as triggering a trade war between the two economic heavyweights. New York Times reported the account after obtaining it from President’s tax records which included both personal and financial details of his companies.

The previous reports published by the paper revealed, he paid USD 750 in US federal tax reserves in 2016 and 2017 after becoming President. Trump’s Chinese bank account has released USD 188,561 in local taxes. Trump has been critical of Joe Biden and his China policy in as he enters into the presidential elections on Nov 3, 2020. Trump administration has blasted Biden’s son Hunter, singling him out for unfounded claims about pertaining to his dealing with China. Biden’s income tax files show no income tax returns and financial or business dealings with Chinese.

Non-functioning Office

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump organization decried the New York Times story as “pure speculation” and said that it made “incorrect assumptions”. He told the newspaper that Trump International Hotels Management had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes”.

“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialized and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” Mr. Garten said.

“Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose,” he told the NY Times. The United States president has multiple business interests both in United States and out of it. His businesses range from golf courses in Scotland and Ireland to five-star luxury hotels. The NY Times claims that Republican owns foreign bank accounts in Britain, Ireland and China.

Ending dependency on Chinese

Trump in August announced that he would give tax credits to US firms in a bid to persuade them to move their overseas businesses out of China. He also threatened to relieve those of business contracts that continue to outsource work to China. In an address, Trump vowed to create 10mn jobs in 10 months, saying “we will end our reliance on China”.

NY Times report, meanwhile, reports the opposite citing how Trump was attempting to land business in China. His efforts speed up in 2012 when he opened a Shanghai office. President’s tax records show that he has invested at least USD 192,000 in 5 small companies created solely to pursue business interests in the upcoming years.

Those companies incurred at least USD 97,4000 in business expenses since 2010 including minor tax payments and accounting fees as of 2018. However, his business pursuits were largely steered by Trump International Hotels Management having direct ownership of THC China Development, according to the excerpts of the report published in paper.