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Donald Trump’s Scottish golf courses miss deadline to file accounts

Trump International was built from scratch after he bought a 1,400-acre plot of land in 2006 with plans to build “the world’s best golf course”.

Two of the former president’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, are directors of Trump International and SLC Turnberry. Eric is the sole director of Golf Recreation Scotland.

Late filing of accounts incurs an automatic fine of £150 under UK company law. This increases to £375 for delays of between one and three months, £750 for between three and six months, and £1,500 for more than six months.

The Government website states that failing to file accounts on time “is a criminal offence”.

It adds: “Directors or LLP designated members could be personally fined in the criminal courts.”

Dan Neidle, founder of advisory group Tax Policy Associates, said that although the automatic £150 fine was comparatively modest, it was more than Mr Trump paid in federal tax in the US during 2020.

The former US President is battling a growing furore over his tax affairs, after a House of Representatives committee voted to make six years of returns open to the public.

The US filings revealed that Mr. Trump and his wife Melania paid $641,931 in federal income taxes in 2015, $750 in 2016 and 2017, nearly $1m in 2018, $133,445 in 2019, and $0 in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Trumps reported that they had a Chinese bank account between 2015 and 2017 – despite Mr Trump arguing during the 2020 presidential election that the account “was closed in 2015, I believe”.

Mr. Trump said at the time: “I closed it before I even ran for president, let alone became president.”

Responding to the publication of his tax affairs at the end of December, Mr Trump issued a statement saying: “The Democrats should have never done it, the Supreme Court should have never approved it, and it’s going to lead to horrible things for so many people.

“The ‘Trump’ tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises.”

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