BREAKING: White House releases Trump tax info after MSNBC tweet

The White House releases US President Donald Trump’s 2005 tax return as MSNBC host Rachel Maddow tweets the news organisation got a copy of the financial information. The former claims that Trump made over $US150 million (AU$198 million) in 2005 and paid US$38 million (AU$50 million) in income taxes on the same year.

Journalist David Cay Johnston had obtained Donald Trump’s form 1040 tax return from 2005. The details were revealed on a segment of “The Rachel Maddow Show” Tuesday night.

MSNBC revealed that Trump paid US$31 million (AU$40 million) in the alternative minimum tax and wrote off about US$103 million (AU$136 million) in business losses. The organisation’s report indicated that Trump and his wife, Melania, paid US$38 million (AU$50 million) in income taxes of their $US150 million (AU$198 million) income.

Maddow earlier hinted on Twitter that she will discuss the document on her Tuesday night show. But the White House released the president’s tax information ahead of it, adding that desperation in ratings is seen when a news outlet is willing to violate the law. “You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago,” it said in a statement.

The White House stressed that it is "totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns" and launched another attack on the "dishonest media.” Maddow hit back, reportedly saying she was exercising the First Amendment right to publish information in the public interest.

It is unclear whether or not Trump intends to release his returns while he’s in office, but the White House assures that the POTUS will focus on his plans for tax reform that will benefit all Americans. It further notes that before Trump was elected as the president of US, he was already one of the most successful businessmen in the world.

Trump has refused to provide his financial information during the 2016 presidential campaign, claiming he was under audit. During the first presidential debate, Hillary Clinton accused Trump of not having paid federal tax in years to which the latter replied, “That makes me smart.”

"You know, the only ones that cares about my tax returns are the reporters," the POTUS said during a news conference after his Jan. 20 inauguration. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said the public didn’t care about Trump’s tax return. “He's not going to release his tax returns. We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care,” she exclaimed.