Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years, the newspaper says.

US President Donald Trump‘s businesses lost more than $1bn from 1985 to 1994, according to the New York Times, which said it obtained printouts from the president’s official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax transcripts in the United States.

The newspaper on Tuesday said Trump, who was elected in 2016, posted losses in excess of $250m in both 1990 and 1991, which appeared to be more than double any other individual US taxpayer, based on IRS data.

Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years, the Times said.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

The Republican president, a real estate magnate who turned over the running of his businesses to his sons after his election, touted his business acumen and negotiating skills on the campaign trail.

He broke with a decades-old precedent by refusing to release his tax returns as a presidential candidate or since being elected, saying he could not do so while his taxes were being audited.

The House Ways and Means Committee has asked the IRS to provide Trump’s personal and business returns for 2013 through 2018. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday refused to do so, saying the panel’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose”.

Mnuchin’s move, which had been expected, is likely to set a legal battle into motion. The main options available to Democrats are to subpoena the IRS for the returns or to file a lawsuit.