Democrats battle to obtain Trump tax returns as president claims huge business losses were intentional

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Democrats are preparing for a legal battle to obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns – an issue that has taken on outsized importance – while the president has claimed huge businesses losses he suffered during the 1980s were an intentional write off. Donald Trump's tax return in numbers This week, the New York Times published some details of what it said were Mr Trump’s finances, showing he lost more than $1bn from 1985 to 1994. On Wednesday, New York state’s senate approved a bill that would allow three congressional committees to get access to Mr Trump’s state tax returns, giving Democrats a potential way of overcoming the administration’s refusal to disclose the president’s federal returns. “Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases,” Mr Trump tweeted.