Trump touts tax knowledge following bombshell report

Donald Trump early Sunday said he knows tax laws “better than anyone who has ever run for president” following a report that he could have legally avoided paying taxes for years.

The Republican presidential nominee tweeted that he is “the only one who can fix” U.S. tax laws.

I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them. #failing@nytimes

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2016

Trump also touted his job-creation record in an early-morning tweet.

I have created tens of thousands of jobs and will bring back great American prosperity. Hillary has only created jobs at the FBI and DOJ!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2016

The New York Times reported late Saturday that a $916 million loss on Trump’s 1995 income tax returns could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income tax for up to 18 years.

{mosads}At the first presidential debate last Monday, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton accused him of not paying federal income taxes.

“That makes me smart,” he replied.

Trump’s campaign dismissed the new report, saying the “only news here is that the more than 20-year-old alleged tax document was illegally obtained, a further demonstration that the New York Times, like establishment media in general, is an extension of the Clinton Campaign, the Democratic Party and their global special interests.”

“What is happening now with the FBI and [Department of Justice] on Hillary Clinton’s emails and illegal server, including her many lies and her lies to Congress are worse than what took place in the administration of Richard Nixon – and far more illegal,” the Trump campaign said in a statement.

Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, pounced on the newspaper’s report, saying it “reveals the colossal nature of Donald Trump’s past business failures and just how long he may have avoided paying any federal income taxes whatsoever.”

“Now that the gig is up, why doesn’t he go ahead and release his returns to show us all how ‘smart’ he really is?” Mook asked in a statement.

Trump has refused to release his tax returns, citing an Internal Revenue Service audit, in a break from tradition among presidential candidates in recent history.

— This report was updated at 8:06 a.m.