Story highlights Johnson has struggled to gain traction for his third-party bid

Several high-profile moments may have added to his struggles

Washington (CNN) Gary Johnson hasn't read The New York Times report indicating Donald Trump reported nearly $1 billion in losses in 1995, according to state tax records. But he does think income and corporate taxes should go, he said Sunday.

The New York Times reported Saturday that Trump reported a loss of $916 million on his 1995 tax records -- which, tax experts said, would have allowed Trump to avoid paying income taxes for a period of 18 years.

The paper did not look at his federal return. It obtained one page of his New York State resident income tax return as well as the first page of New Jersey and Connecticut nonresident returns.

CNN has not independently verified the documents' authenticity, but Trump's campaign has not challenged any of the facts reported by the Times.

Johnson told CNN's Fredrika Whitfield he was not aware what "loophole" Trump could have exploited to avoid taxes for so long and began to outline his own beliefs with regard to taxes.

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