Inside a Donald Trump Audit: Missing Books and Unusual Accounting
Another case where Trump personally cheated on a deal, this is exactly why Americans need to see his taxes.
A decade before, Trump struck a unique deal freeing the hotel of $160 million in property taxes over the course of 40 years, while guaranteeing the city a small financial stake in its success: New York City received annual rent payments tied to the Grand Hyatt’s profits. In 1986, the hotel had its best year, raking in nearly $80 million. City officials expected to receive at least as much as the $3.7 million paid the year before.
But a month after Trump and his partners signed off on the accounting changes, the city was paid just $667,155.
What followed was a two-year-long saga in which city auditors said they were met with stonewalling, disorganization and obfuscation at every turn. Thirty years later, as the Republican nominee for president cites an IRS audit while refusing to release his tax returns, the Grand Hyatt case offers rare insight into what an audit of a Trump business can look like.
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