“Almost everybody else is getting poorer. And yet billionaires like Donald Trump are able to manipulate the tax system so that they avoid paying federal income tax,” Sanders said. | Getty Sanders: Trump tax bombshell is evidence of inequality

A report that revealed Donald Trump might have been able to avoid paying federal income taxes for almost two decades underscores Democrats’ message about “massive income and wealth inequality” in the country, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday.

“The rich are getting richer,” Sanders said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “Almost everybody else is getting poorer. And yet billionaires like Donald Trump are able to manipulate the tax system so that they avoid paying federal income tax.”


The New York Times story at issue did not claim that the GOP presidential nominee broke the law. But, according to tax records obtained by the newspaper, a $916 million loss reported on his 1995 tax returns would have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for as long as 18 years.

Trump surrogates appeared on the Sunday shows to make the case that the episode was evidence of his "genius" in maneuvering the tax code.

"If [Trump adviser Rudy] Giuliani thinks that Mr. Trump is smart and all the rest of us are dummies because we believe in America, we believe in our kids, we believe in national defense, well, I think they have a very distorted view of the American people and what this country is about," Sanders said.

Assuming the activity was legal, Sanders said, the report is proof of a "corrupt tax system."

"If you're a billionaire, there are all kinds of loopholes that you can utilize that enable you, who may be a billionaire, not to pay anything in taxes," said the Vermont independent, a former candidate for the Democratic nomination.