Why is Trump releasing (or not) his tax returns such a big deal?Can Trump really implement his tax reform?Why is Trump's omission of an explicit mention of Jews from the holocaust memorial a big deal?Why does US seem to have such a convoluted tax code?Why are tax cuts not tied to job creation and growth?Did Schumer offer Trump a deal that included the wall?Why is Obama releasing his 2018 endorsements in “waves?”Is there a documented rationale why the House Ways and Means chairman can demand tax info?Why not demand President's/candidate's financial records instead of tax returns?Has President Trump stated why he sought Ukraine's cooperation on the Biden matter?

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Why is Trump releasing (or not) his tax returns such a big deal?


Can Trump really implement his tax reform?Why is Trump's omission of an explicit mention of Jews from the holocaust memorial a big deal?Why does US seem to have such a convoluted tax code?Why are tax cuts not tied to job creation and growth?Did Schumer offer Trump a deal that included the wall?Why is Obama releasing his 2018 endorsements in “waves?”Is there a documented rationale why the House Ways and Means chairman can demand tax info?Why not demand President's/candidate's financial records instead of tax returns?Has President Trump stated why he sought Ukraine's cooperation on the Biden matter?






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48

















Why is it such a big deal that President Trump has not released his tax returns?



Also, why would he make such a big deal about not releasing them, given that this just makes everyone more interested?










share|improve this question
























  • 18





    Does it matter if he's cheated on his taxes?

    – pjc50
    yesterday






  • 17





    @pjc50 ha? the question is not about whether he filed his taxes. The IRS still audited him. The question is why he wouldn't make them public.

    – grovkin
    yesterday







  • 9





    @pjc50 or made changes to tax laws that benefit him personally. nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/…

    – Jontia
    yesterday







  • 2





    Some comments removed. Everyone, please remember that comments are for requesting clarifications or suggesting improvements to the question. Please do not attempt to answer the question in comments.

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    – lazarusL
    yesterday

















48

















Why is it such a big deal that President Trump has not released his tax returns?



Also, why would he make such a big deal about not releasing them, given that this just makes everyone more interested?










share|improve this question
























  • 18





    Does it matter if he's cheated on his taxes?

    – pjc50
    yesterday






  • 17





    @pjc50 ha? the question is not about whether he filed his taxes. The IRS still audited him. The question is why he wouldn't make them public.

    – grovkin
    yesterday







  • 9





    @pjc50 or made changes to tax laws that benefit him personally. nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/…

    – Jontia
    yesterday







  • 2





    Some comments removed. Everyone, please remember that comments are for requesting clarifications or suggesting improvements to the question. Please do not attempt to answer the question in comments.

    – yannis
    yesterday











  • Discussion on meta

    – lazarusL
    yesterday













48












48








48


2






Why is it such a big deal that President Trump has not released his tax returns?



Also, why would he make such a big deal about not releasing them, given that this just makes everyone more interested?










share|improve this question

















Why is it such a big deal that President Trump has not released his tax returns?



Also, why would he make such a big deal about not releasing them, given that this just makes everyone more interested?







united-states donald-trump taxes






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edited 1 hour ago









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  • 18





    Does it matter if he's cheated on his taxes?

    – pjc50
    yesterday






  • 17





    @pjc50 ha? the question is not about whether he filed his taxes. The IRS still audited him. The question is why he wouldn't make them public.

    – grovkin
    yesterday







  • 9





    @pjc50 or made changes to tax laws that benefit him personally. nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/…

    – Jontia
    yesterday







  • 2





    Some comments removed. Everyone, please remember that comments are for requesting clarifications or suggesting improvements to the question. Please do not attempt to answer the question in comments.

    – yannis
    yesterday











  • Discussion on meta

    – lazarusL
    yesterday












  • 18





    Does it matter if he's cheated on his taxes?

    – pjc50
    yesterday






  • 17





    @pjc50 ha? the question is not about whether he filed his taxes. The IRS still audited him. The question is why he wouldn't make them public.

    – grovkin
    yesterday







  • 9





    @pjc50 or made changes to tax laws that benefit him personally. nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/…

    – Jontia
    yesterday







  • 2





    Some comments removed. Everyone, please remember that comments are for requesting clarifications or suggesting improvements to the question. Please do not attempt to answer the question in comments.

    – yannis
    yesterday











  • Discussion on meta

    – lazarusL
    yesterday







18




18





Does it matter if he's cheated on his taxes?

– pjc50
yesterday





Does it matter if he's cheated on his taxes?

– pjc50
yesterday




17




17





@pjc50 ha? the question is not about whether he filed his taxes. The IRS still audited him. The question is why he wouldn't make them public.

– grovkin
yesterday






@pjc50 ha? the question is not about whether he filed his taxes. The IRS still audited him. The question is why he wouldn't make them public.

– grovkin
yesterday





9




9





@pjc50 or made changes to tax laws that benefit him personally. nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/…

– Jontia
yesterday






@pjc50 or made changes to tax laws that benefit him personally. nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/…

– Jontia
yesterday





2




2





Some comments removed. Everyone, please remember that comments are for requesting clarifications or suggesting improvements to the question. Please do not attempt to answer the question in comments.

– yannis
yesterday





Some comments removed. Everyone, please remember that comments are for requesting clarifications or suggesting improvements to the question. Please do not attempt to answer the question in comments.

– yannis
yesterday













Discussion on meta

– lazarusL
yesterday





Discussion on meta

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7 Answers
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102


















There's a whole wikipedia article on the topic.



In a nutshell, he has been the first major party nominee since 1976 not to make his tax returns public. And he did not release them in spite of promising during the campaign that he would.



When he reneged on the promise, he put forward that they were complex enough that lay people wouldn't understand them or something to that effect if memory serves me well. He also purported that he couldn't release them because they were being audited -- but that doesn't actually preclude releasing them.



US voters care about this, and rightly so. There's the matter of transparency for starters. More importantly, it's the only way to know whether Trump was profiteering while holding his office. Incidentally, and contrary to what usually happens, Trump refused to divest from his business while president. One consequence of this is that foreign dignitaries stay at Trump properties to try to get favors from or access to Trump. (See the call transcript that ended up at the center of Trump's impeachment investigation among many, many other stories.)



Further contributing to the poor optics of the situation, Trump asked McConnell to prioritize confirmation of the IRS counsel early in his presidency. Desmond, his nominee, had briefly advised the Trump Organization on tax issues before Trump took office.



At this point the most charitable explanation is that Trump is not as wealthy as he claims to be and is withholding the returns to protect his ego. The less charitable one is that there might be a few rats in the returns that he'd rather keep away from public scrutiny. Lending further credence to the latter, a whistleblower brought attention to possible improper "efforts to influence" the mandatory IRS audits of Trump's (or Pence's) tax returns.






share|improve this answer























  • 5





    taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

    – grovkin
    yesterday






  • 20





    @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

    – Jontia
    yesterday






  • 12





    Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

    – BurnsBA
    yesterday






  • 9





    About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday






  • 11





    @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    yesterday



















29


















This isn't the only reason, but one of the current reasons is that Donald Trump has not divested himself of any of his business holdings before assuming office. He has continued to profit off of these businesses throughout his term in office. The emoluments clause exists for a reason. There is a great deal of evidence of foreign powers paying money to Trump hotels in order to curry favor with him.



In short, his tax returns give people a way to examine whether and how he is being bribed. It's not the whole story, but it is a critical part of the puzzle.



There's also the fact that the public wishes to have someone honest enough to reveal their tax forms to serve as president. It's called transparency. Trump promised that he would during his campaign, and then betrayed his own promise to do so. That makes him a liar and a cheat.






share|improve this answer





















  • 15





    A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

    – Evargalo
    yesterday






  • 9





    @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    yesterday






  • 8





    @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

    – grovkin
    yesterday






  • 11





    @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

    – jalynn2
    yesterday






  • 13





    @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

    – Carduus
    yesterday


















21


















As to who cares and wants to see them released, polls say something over half the voters do, e.g. https://morningconsult.com/2019/04/10/most-voters-support-democrats-quest-for-trumps-tax-returns/ (Numbers of course vary by the pollsters and dates, but AFAIK it's always been a fairly large share of the electorate.)



Of course we don't know why all these people would like to see them released. There are probably many different reasons, ranging from "It's traditional, all the other Presidents/presidential candidates always have." to "It'll show that he's committing tax fraud or other crimes, lying about his wealth, and so on."



As for why he's making a big deal out of not releasing them, there seem to be only two possible reasons. Either he knows that they really will prove that he's committing fraud and/or lying about his wealth, or it's simply a matter of ego.






share|improve this answer





















  • 11





    I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

    – grovkin
    yesterday







  • 6





    @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

    – Jontia
    yesterday






  • 8





    @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

    – jalynn2
    yesterday






  • 20





    @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

    – BurnsBA
    yesterday






  • 5





    @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

    – Jarrod Christman
    yesterday


















5


















It would certainly be of interest to the Attorney General of the State of New York, who is currently suing Trump over the legality of his charity organizations.



The lawsuit alleges that Trump has been earmarking charitable donations that have actually been used to benefit Trump's personal, business, and political interests.




The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, culminated a nearly two-year investigation of Mr. Trump’s charity, which became a subject of scrutiny during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. While such foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities, the petition asserts that Mr. Trump’s was often improperly used to settle legal claims against his various businesses, even spending $10,000 on a portrait of Mr. Trump that was hung at one of his golf clubs.




Charity organizations are typically tax exempt - but they have to actually be charity organizations legally in order to maintain this tax exempt status.



By December, the Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve under court supervision due to this lawsuit.




The foundation was accused by the attorney general, Barbara Underwood, of “functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” and of engaging in “a shocking pattern of illegality” that included unlawfully coordinating with Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.



In addition to shuttering the charity, her office has pursued a lawsuit that could bar President Trump and his three oldest children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as force the payment of millions in restitution and penalties.




In the past, Trump had engaged in a scheme with jewelry stores to evade New York sales taxes:




Trump would go into the store with his wife, his girlfriend, his...whatever (to use his vernacular). He would then buy her an expensive necklace or wristwatch. Normally, such a transaction would face the New York city and state sales tax, which would be pretty high on luxury jewelry.



In an illegal attempt to evade the tax, Trump "asked" the store to instead ship the jewelry to an out of state location, where no New York sales tax could be collected. In fact, the store would merely send an empty jewelry box to the location, while Trump and his lady friends walked out the door with the jewelry that very day.



The state and city tax collectors eventually caught onto this scheme, and Trump promptly testified against his erstwhile tax evasion colluding partners at the jewelry store in order to save his own skin.




In short - it is of legal interest to the prosecuting team of New York State suing him for tax evasion as well as showing proven evidence of a historical pattern of tax fraud.






share|improve this answer



































    1


















    This answer presumes that the returns contain nothing politically damaging to Trump.



    In this case, refusing ignites his opposition and gets them focused on getting the returns publicized. They begin to speculate about what is in them, and spend a whole lot of time an energy on them.



    Then when he decides that he has wasted enough of his opposition's time and energy, he releases them, and it's a nothingburger, and he catches his opposition flat-footed.



    It's an added bonus if his 2020 opponent stakes his/her credibility on there being something illicit in those returns, and loses face when this turns out not to be the case.



    (The fact that the 2016 election cycle went by without someone in the IRS anonymously leaking them leads me to believe that there is nothing at all damaging to Trump in his returns.)






    share|improve this answer





















    • 4





      -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

      – Alex Reynolds
      17 hours ago






    • 3





      Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

      – divibisan
      12 hours ago






    • 1





      This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

      – isakbob
      11 hours ago











    • Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

      – jamesqf
      1 hour ago


















    -5


















    I might get downvoted for saying this, but there's a very simple answer to this one:



    An awful lot of people hate Trump, and his unreleased tax returns are a convenient cudgel for them to metaphorically beat him with.



    We're talking about tax returns from, what, 3+ years ago now? Even if they might have been relevant then, they'd probably be a lot less relevant now, barring evidence of criminal activity.






    share|improve this answer





















    • 34





      I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 12





      That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

      – DJClayworth
      yesterday






    • 1





      This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

      – user3067860
      yesterday






    • 1





      This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

      – Nuclear Wang
      18 hours ago


















    -7


















    A lot of never-trump think it is a big deal, because they think trump cheated on his taxes.



    A lot of politicians think it is a big deal, because they hope the never trump guys are right.



    Trump thinks it is a big deal because he is hiding something. Not something illegal (as he has been audited many times).



    What he is hiding is painfully obvious: Trump isn't nearly as rich as he claims to be.



    No multi-billionaire would waste his time, doing silly TV shows, renting his name out to real estate projects, or running nonsensical get-rich-now classes (at a technically legal trump university, technicallybecause there is no legal requirement to use the word university)






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

      – Battle
      20 hours ago






    • 5





      @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

      – Jontia
      19 hours ago











    • @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

      – Battle
      17 hours ago











    • @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

      – Battle
      17 hours ago











    • @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

      – jamesqf
      1 hour ago












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    7 Answers
    7






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    7 Answers
    7






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    oldest

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    102


















    There's a whole wikipedia article on the topic.



    In a nutshell, he has been the first major party nominee since 1976 not to make his tax returns public. And he did not release them in spite of promising during the campaign that he would.



    When he reneged on the promise, he put forward that they were complex enough that lay people wouldn't understand them or something to that effect if memory serves me well. He also purported that he couldn't release them because they were being audited -- but that doesn't actually preclude releasing them.



    US voters care about this, and rightly so. There's the matter of transparency for starters. More importantly, it's the only way to know whether Trump was profiteering while holding his office. Incidentally, and contrary to what usually happens, Trump refused to divest from his business while president. One consequence of this is that foreign dignitaries stay at Trump properties to try to get favors from or access to Trump. (See the call transcript that ended up at the center of Trump's impeachment investigation among many, many other stories.)



    Further contributing to the poor optics of the situation, Trump asked McConnell to prioritize confirmation of the IRS counsel early in his presidency. Desmond, his nominee, had briefly advised the Trump Organization on tax issues before Trump took office.



    At this point the most charitable explanation is that Trump is not as wealthy as he claims to be and is withholding the returns to protect his ego. The less charitable one is that there might be a few rats in the returns that he'd rather keep away from public scrutiny. Lending further credence to the latter, a whistleblower brought attention to possible improper "efforts to influence" the mandatory IRS audits of Trump's (or Pence's) tax returns.






    share|improve this answer























    • 5





      taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 12





      Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 9





      About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

      – T.E.D.
      yesterday






    • 11





      @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday
















    102


















    There's a whole wikipedia article on the topic.



    In a nutshell, he has been the first major party nominee since 1976 not to make his tax returns public. And he did not release them in spite of promising during the campaign that he would.



    When he reneged on the promise, he put forward that they were complex enough that lay people wouldn't understand them or something to that effect if memory serves me well. He also purported that he couldn't release them because they were being audited -- but that doesn't actually preclude releasing them.



    US voters care about this, and rightly so. There's the matter of transparency for starters. More importantly, it's the only way to know whether Trump was profiteering while holding his office. Incidentally, and contrary to what usually happens, Trump refused to divest from his business while president. One consequence of this is that foreign dignitaries stay at Trump properties to try to get favors from or access to Trump. (See the call transcript that ended up at the center of Trump's impeachment investigation among many, many other stories.)



    Further contributing to the poor optics of the situation, Trump asked McConnell to prioritize confirmation of the IRS counsel early in his presidency. Desmond, his nominee, had briefly advised the Trump Organization on tax issues before Trump took office.



    At this point the most charitable explanation is that Trump is not as wealthy as he claims to be and is withholding the returns to protect his ego. The less charitable one is that there might be a few rats in the returns that he'd rather keep away from public scrutiny. Lending further credence to the latter, a whistleblower brought attention to possible improper "efforts to influence" the mandatory IRS audits of Trump's (or Pence's) tax returns.






    share|improve this answer























    • 5





      taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 12





      Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 9





      About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

      – T.E.D.
      yesterday






    • 11





      @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday














    102














    102










    102









    There's a whole wikipedia article on the topic.



    In a nutshell, he has been the first major party nominee since 1976 not to make his tax returns public. And he did not release them in spite of promising during the campaign that he would.



    When he reneged on the promise, he put forward that they were complex enough that lay people wouldn't understand them or something to that effect if memory serves me well. He also purported that he couldn't release them because they were being audited -- but that doesn't actually preclude releasing them.



    US voters care about this, and rightly so. There's the matter of transparency for starters. More importantly, it's the only way to know whether Trump was profiteering while holding his office. Incidentally, and contrary to what usually happens, Trump refused to divest from his business while president. One consequence of this is that foreign dignitaries stay at Trump properties to try to get favors from or access to Trump. (See the call transcript that ended up at the center of Trump's impeachment investigation among many, many other stories.)



    Further contributing to the poor optics of the situation, Trump asked McConnell to prioritize confirmation of the IRS counsel early in his presidency. Desmond, his nominee, had briefly advised the Trump Organization on tax issues before Trump took office.



    At this point the most charitable explanation is that Trump is not as wealthy as he claims to be and is withholding the returns to protect his ego. The less charitable one is that there might be a few rats in the returns that he'd rather keep away from public scrutiny. Lending further credence to the latter, a whistleblower brought attention to possible improper "efforts to influence" the mandatory IRS audits of Trump's (or Pence's) tax returns.






    share|improve this answer
















    There's a whole wikipedia article on the topic.



    In a nutshell, he has been the first major party nominee since 1976 not to make his tax returns public. And he did not release them in spite of promising during the campaign that he would.



    When he reneged on the promise, he put forward that they were complex enough that lay people wouldn't understand them or something to that effect if memory serves me well. He also purported that he couldn't release them because they were being audited -- but that doesn't actually preclude releasing them.



    US voters care about this, and rightly so. There's the matter of transparency for starters. More importantly, it's the only way to know whether Trump was profiteering while holding his office. Incidentally, and contrary to what usually happens, Trump refused to divest from his business while president. One consequence of this is that foreign dignitaries stay at Trump properties to try to get favors from or access to Trump. (See the call transcript that ended up at the center of Trump's impeachment investigation among many, many other stories.)



    Further contributing to the poor optics of the situation, Trump asked McConnell to prioritize confirmation of the IRS counsel early in his presidency. Desmond, his nominee, had briefly advised the Trump Organization on tax issues before Trump took office.



    At this point the most charitable explanation is that Trump is not as wealthy as he claims to be and is withholding the returns to protect his ego. The less charitable one is that there might be a few rats in the returns that he'd rather keep away from public scrutiny. Lending further credence to the latter, a whistleblower brought attention to possible improper "efforts to influence" the mandatory IRS audits of Trump's (or Pence's) tax returns.







    share|improve this answer















    share|improve this answer




    share|improve this answer








    edited yesterday

























    answered yesterday









    Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

    25.9k6 gold badges75 silver badges104 bronze badges




    25.9k6 gold badges75 silver badges104 bronze badges










    • 5





      taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 12





      Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 9





      About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

      – T.E.D.
      yesterday






    • 11





      @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday













    • 5





      taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 12





      Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 9





      About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

      – T.E.D.
      yesterday






    • 11





      @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday








    5




    5





    taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

    – grovkin
    yesterday





    taxes would not show whether he is wealthy or not. There is no federal property tax. He could have a negative income for 20 years and still have more money than he started with because of appreciating real estate assets.

    – grovkin
    yesterday




    20




    20





    @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

    – Jontia
    yesterday





    @grovkin that alone would be really interesting. And could be used to make the case that taxation laws are blatantly unfair and should be changed to stop such ridiculous situations. Given taxes are generally private, having a published tax instance for a real person would be a significant boost for those proposing tax reform.

    – Jontia
    yesterday




    12




    12





    Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

    – BurnsBA
    yesterday





    Feb 2015 audio of Trump saying he would release his returns: youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as

    – BurnsBA
    yesterday




    9




    9





    About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday





    About that last link... general legal tax advice is that if you profit from illegal activities, you should report that on your taxes, as its often much easier for prosecutors to convict a person for tax evasion than for the actual illegal activity that brought in the money. The IRS even provides advice for doing this.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday




    11




    11





    @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    yesterday






    @canadianer: No, it wouldn't be. You could vaguely have had a point if Trump hadn't promised he'd release his returns during the campaign. But he did that. And even if he had not, it's been common practice since the aftermath of Watergate for presidential candidates to disclose their returns.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    yesterday














    29


















    This isn't the only reason, but one of the current reasons is that Donald Trump has not divested himself of any of his business holdings before assuming office. He has continued to profit off of these businesses throughout his term in office. The emoluments clause exists for a reason. There is a great deal of evidence of foreign powers paying money to Trump hotels in order to curry favor with him.



    In short, his tax returns give people a way to examine whether and how he is being bribed. It's not the whole story, but it is a critical part of the puzzle.



    There's also the fact that the public wishes to have someone honest enough to reveal their tax forms to serve as president. It's called transparency. Trump promised that he would during his campaign, and then betrayed his own promise to do so. That makes him a liar and a cheat.






    share|improve this answer





















    • 15





      A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

      – Evargalo
      yesterday






    • 9





      @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 11





      @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 13





      @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

      – Carduus
      yesterday















    29


















    This isn't the only reason, but one of the current reasons is that Donald Trump has not divested himself of any of his business holdings before assuming office. He has continued to profit off of these businesses throughout his term in office. The emoluments clause exists for a reason. There is a great deal of evidence of foreign powers paying money to Trump hotels in order to curry favor with him.



    In short, his tax returns give people a way to examine whether and how he is being bribed. It's not the whole story, but it is a critical part of the puzzle.



    There's also the fact that the public wishes to have someone honest enough to reveal their tax forms to serve as president. It's called transparency. Trump promised that he would during his campaign, and then betrayed his own promise to do so. That makes him a liar and a cheat.






    share|improve this answer





















    • 15





      A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

      – Evargalo
      yesterday






    • 9





      @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 11





      @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 13





      @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

      – Carduus
      yesterday













    29














    29










    29









    This isn't the only reason, but one of the current reasons is that Donald Trump has not divested himself of any of his business holdings before assuming office. He has continued to profit off of these businesses throughout his term in office. The emoluments clause exists for a reason. There is a great deal of evidence of foreign powers paying money to Trump hotels in order to curry favor with him.



    In short, his tax returns give people a way to examine whether and how he is being bribed. It's not the whole story, but it is a critical part of the puzzle.



    There's also the fact that the public wishes to have someone honest enough to reveal their tax forms to serve as president. It's called transparency. Trump promised that he would during his campaign, and then betrayed his own promise to do so. That makes him a liar and a cheat.






    share|improve this answer














    This isn't the only reason, but one of the current reasons is that Donald Trump has not divested himself of any of his business holdings before assuming office. He has continued to profit off of these businesses throughout his term in office. The emoluments clause exists for a reason. There is a great deal of evidence of foreign powers paying money to Trump hotels in order to curry favor with him.



    In short, his tax returns give people a way to examine whether and how he is being bribed. It's not the whole story, but it is a critical part of the puzzle.



    There's also the fact that the public wishes to have someone honest enough to reveal their tax forms to serve as president. It's called transparency. Trump promised that he would during his campaign, and then betrayed his own promise to do so. That makes him a liar and a cheat.







    share|improve this answer













    share|improve this answer




    share|improve this answer










    answered yesterday









    klojjklojj

    1,3695 silver badges14 bronze badges




    1,3695 silver badges14 bronze badges










    • 15





      A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

      – Evargalo
      yesterday






    • 9





      @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 11





      @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 13





      @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

      – Carduus
      yesterday












    • 15





      A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

      – Evargalo
      yesterday






    • 9





      @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

      – grovkin
      yesterday






    • 11





      @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 13





      @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

      – Carduus
      yesterday







    15




    15





    A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

    – Evargalo
    yesterday





    A couple of sources sustaining the "great deal of evidence" would be welcome.

    – Evargalo
    yesterday




    9




    9





    @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    yesterday





    @Evargalo: See the call transcript that triggered Trump's impeachment inquiry among many, many stories.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    yesterday




    8




    8





    @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

    – grovkin
    yesterday





    @Denisdebernardy there is no impeachment inquiry at this time. The party in charge of the House of Representatives is refusing to hold a vote on starting such an inquiry.

    – grovkin
    yesterday




    11




    11





    @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

    – jalynn2
    yesterday





    @grovkin: A vote of the entire House is not required to start an impeachment inquiry. Demanding that is a political stunt designed to intimidate vulnerable House members. Just like any other criminal investigation, it makes sense to investigate whether the evidence supports impeachment/bringing charges before actually doing so. An Inquiry is a prelude to actual impeachment proceedings.

    – jalynn2
    yesterday




    13




    13





    @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

    – Carduus
    yesterday





    @grovkin You seem to be mistaking 'impeachment inquiry' with 'impeachment proceedings'. Think of it as a detective gathering evidence. Why would you have everyone vote on whether to proceed with a trial until all the facts are in?

    – Carduus
    yesterday











    21


















    As to who cares and wants to see them released, polls say something over half the voters do, e.g. https://morningconsult.com/2019/04/10/most-voters-support-democrats-quest-for-trumps-tax-returns/ (Numbers of course vary by the pollsters and dates, but AFAIK it's always been a fairly large share of the electorate.)



    Of course we don't know why all these people would like to see them released. There are probably many different reasons, ranging from "It's traditional, all the other Presidents/presidential candidates always have." to "It'll show that he's committing tax fraud or other crimes, lying about his wealth, and so on."



    As for why he's making a big deal out of not releasing them, there seem to be only two possible reasons. Either he knows that they really will prove that he's committing fraud and/or lying about his wealth, or it's simply a matter of ego.






    share|improve this answer





















    • 11





      I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

      – grovkin
      yesterday







    • 6





      @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 5





      @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

      – Jarrod Christman
      yesterday















    21


















    As to who cares and wants to see them released, polls say something over half the voters do, e.g. https://morningconsult.com/2019/04/10/most-voters-support-democrats-quest-for-trumps-tax-returns/ (Numbers of course vary by the pollsters and dates, but AFAIK it's always been a fairly large share of the electorate.)



    Of course we don't know why all these people would like to see them released. There are probably many different reasons, ranging from "It's traditional, all the other Presidents/presidential candidates always have." to "It'll show that he's committing tax fraud or other crimes, lying about his wealth, and so on."



    As for why he's making a big deal out of not releasing them, there seem to be only two possible reasons. Either he knows that they really will prove that he's committing fraud and/or lying about his wealth, or it's simply a matter of ego.






    share|improve this answer





















    • 11





      I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

      – grovkin
      yesterday







    • 6





      @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 5





      @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

      – Jarrod Christman
      yesterday













    21














    21










    21









    As to who cares and wants to see them released, polls say something over half the voters do, e.g. https://morningconsult.com/2019/04/10/most-voters-support-democrats-quest-for-trumps-tax-returns/ (Numbers of course vary by the pollsters and dates, but AFAIK it's always been a fairly large share of the electorate.)



    Of course we don't know why all these people would like to see them released. There are probably many different reasons, ranging from "It's traditional, all the other Presidents/presidential candidates always have." to "It'll show that he's committing tax fraud or other crimes, lying about his wealth, and so on."



    As for why he's making a big deal out of not releasing them, there seem to be only two possible reasons. Either he knows that they really will prove that he's committing fraud and/or lying about his wealth, or it's simply a matter of ego.






    share|improve this answer














    As to who cares and wants to see them released, polls say something over half the voters do, e.g. https://morningconsult.com/2019/04/10/most-voters-support-democrats-quest-for-trumps-tax-returns/ (Numbers of course vary by the pollsters and dates, but AFAIK it's always been a fairly large share of the electorate.)



    Of course we don't know why all these people would like to see them released. There are probably many different reasons, ranging from "It's traditional, all the other Presidents/presidential candidates always have." to "It'll show that he's committing tax fraud or other crimes, lying about his wealth, and so on."



    As for why he's making a big deal out of not releasing them, there seem to be only two possible reasons. Either he knows that they really will prove that he's committing fraud and/or lying about his wealth, or it's simply a matter of ego.







    share|improve this answer













    share|improve this answer




    share|improve this answer










    answered yesterday









    jamesqfjamesqf

    4,4391 gold badge8 silver badges18 bronze badges




    4,4391 gold badge8 silver badges18 bronze badges










    • 11





      I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

      – grovkin
      yesterday







    • 6





      @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 5





      @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

      – Jarrod Christman
      yesterday












    • 11





      I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

      – grovkin
      yesterday







    • 6





      @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

      – Jontia
      yesterday






    • 8





      @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

      – jalynn2
      yesterday






    • 20





      @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

      – BurnsBA
      yesterday






    • 5





      @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

      – Jarrod Christman
      yesterday







    11




    11





    I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

    – grovkin
    yesterday






    I hope you realize that the idea that he is committing tax fraud is absurd. These are tax returns. Which means they have already gone through the IRS. If the IRS can't find fraud in those returns, it's not there.

    – grovkin
    yesterday





    6




    6





    @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

    – Jontia
    yesterday





    @grovkin Doesn't tax fraud usually mean the information provided to the IRS is inaccurate? Reality behind the forms is the key. That said, obviously releasing the forms wouldn't demonstrate that.

    – Jontia
    yesterday




    8




    8





    @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

    – jalynn2
    yesterday





    @Jontia: releasing the forms would not, in itself, demonstrate that, but it would provide a baseline for others to dispute the information that was provided. Thus, releasing them provides a basis for investigating tax fraud.

    – jalynn2
    yesterday




    20




    20





    @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

    – BurnsBA
    yesterday





    @grovkin the IRS are less inclined to look at tax returns for wealthier individuals. There was a number of stories covering this recently, here's one on fox business. So just because the IRS has accepted his returns doesn't mean there isn't fraud. It means nothing is publicly known to be wrong with them.

    – BurnsBA
    yesterday




    5




    5





    @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

    – Jarrod Christman
    yesterday





    @grovkin, there are lots of fraudulent tax returns filed by many individuals all of the time. It's more of a matter if they decide to do an audit to discover such fraud. As long as some of the numbers in the tax return add up in the return itself and supporting documentation, it will likely be accepted.

    – Jarrod Christman
    yesterday











    5


















    It would certainly be of interest to the Attorney General of the State of New York, who is currently suing Trump over the legality of his charity organizations.



    The lawsuit alleges that Trump has been earmarking charitable donations that have actually been used to benefit Trump's personal, business, and political interests.




    The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, culminated a nearly two-year investigation of Mr. Trump’s charity, which became a subject of scrutiny during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. While such foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities, the petition asserts that Mr. Trump’s was often improperly used to settle legal claims against his various businesses, even spending $10,000 on a portrait of Mr. Trump that was hung at one of his golf clubs.




    Charity organizations are typically tax exempt - but they have to actually be charity organizations legally in order to maintain this tax exempt status.



    By December, the Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve under court supervision due to this lawsuit.




    The foundation was accused by the attorney general, Barbara Underwood, of “functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” and of engaging in “a shocking pattern of illegality” that included unlawfully coordinating with Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.



    In addition to shuttering the charity, her office has pursued a lawsuit that could bar President Trump and his three oldest children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as force the payment of millions in restitution and penalties.




    In the past, Trump had engaged in a scheme with jewelry stores to evade New York sales taxes:




    Trump would go into the store with his wife, his girlfriend, his...whatever (to use his vernacular). He would then buy her an expensive necklace or wristwatch. Normally, such a transaction would face the New York city and state sales tax, which would be pretty high on luxury jewelry.



    In an illegal attempt to evade the tax, Trump "asked" the store to instead ship the jewelry to an out of state location, where no New York sales tax could be collected. In fact, the store would merely send an empty jewelry box to the location, while Trump and his lady friends walked out the door with the jewelry that very day.



    The state and city tax collectors eventually caught onto this scheme, and Trump promptly testified against his erstwhile tax evasion colluding partners at the jewelry store in order to save his own skin.




    In short - it is of legal interest to the prosecuting team of New York State suing him for tax evasion as well as showing proven evidence of a historical pattern of tax fraud.






    share|improve this answer
































      5


















      It would certainly be of interest to the Attorney General of the State of New York, who is currently suing Trump over the legality of his charity organizations.



      The lawsuit alleges that Trump has been earmarking charitable donations that have actually been used to benefit Trump's personal, business, and political interests.




      The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, culminated a nearly two-year investigation of Mr. Trump’s charity, which became a subject of scrutiny during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. While such foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities, the petition asserts that Mr. Trump’s was often improperly used to settle legal claims against his various businesses, even spending $10,000 on a portrait of Mr. Trump that was hung at one of his golf clubs.




      Charity organizations are typically tax exempt - but they have to actually be charity organizations legally in order to maintain this tax exempt status.



      By December, the Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve under court supervision due to this lawsuit.




      The foundation was accused by the attorney general, Barbara Underwood, of “functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” and of engaging in “a shocking pattern of illegality” that included unlawfully coordinating with Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.



      In addition to shuttering the charity, her office has pursued a lawsuit that could bar President Trump and his three oldest children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as force the payment of millions in restitution and penalties.




      In the past, Trump had engaged in a scheme with jewelry stores to evade New York sales taxes:




      Trump would go into the store with his wife, his girlfriend, his...whatever (to use his vernacular). He would then buy her an expensive necklace or wristwatch. Normally, such a transaction would face the New York city and state sales tax, which would be pretty high on luxury jewelry.



      In an illegal attempt to evade the tax, Trump "asked" the store to instead ship the jewelry to an out of state location, where no New York sales tax could be collected. In fact, the store would merely send an empty jewelry box to the location, while Trump and his lady friends walked out the door with the jewelry that very day.



      The state and city tax collectors eventually caught onto this scheme, and Trump promptly testified against his erstwhile tax evasion colluding partners at the jewelry store in order to save his own skin.




      In short - it is of legal interest to the prosecuting team of New York State suing him for tax evasion as well as showing proven evidence of a historical pattern of tax fraud.






      share|improve this answer






























        5














        5










        5









        It would certainly be of interest to the Attorney General of the State of New York, who is currently suing Trump over the legality of his charity organizations.



        The lawsuit alleges that Trump has been earmarking charitable donations that have actually been used to benefit Trump's personal, business, and political interests.




        The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, culminated a nearly two-year investigation of Mr. Trump’s charity, which became a subject of scrutiny during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. While such foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities, the petition asserts that Mr. Trump’s was often improperly used to settle legal claims against his various businesses, even spending $10,000 on a portrait of Mr. Trump that was hung at one of his golf clubs.




        Charity organizations are typically tax exempt - but they have to actually be charity organizations legally in order to maintain this tax exempt status.



        By December, the Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve under court supervision due to this lawsuit.




        The foundation was accused by the attorney general, Barbara Underwood, of “functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” and of engaging in “a shocking pattern of illegality” that included unlawfully coordinating with Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.



        In addition to shuttering the charity, her office has pursued a lawsuit that could bar President Trump and his three oldest children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as force the payment of millions in restitution and penalties.




        In the past, Trump had engaged in a scheme with jewelry stores to evade New York sales taxes:




        Trump would go into the store with his wife, his girlfriend, his...whatever (to use his vernacular). He would then buy her an expensive necklace or wristwatch. Normally, such a transaction would face the New York city and state sales tax, which would be pretty high on luxury jewelry.



        In an illegal attempt to evade the tax, Trump "asked" the store to instead ship the jewelry to an out of state location, where no New York sales tax could be collected. In fact, the store would merely send an empty jewelry box to the location, while Trump and his lady friends walked out the door with the jewelry that very day.



        The state and city tax collectors eventually caught onto this scheme, and Trump promptly testified against his erstwhile tax evasion colluding partners at the jewelry store in order to save his own skin.




        In short - it is of legal interest to the prosecuting team of New York State suing him for tax evasion as well as showing proven evidence of a historical pattern of tax fraud.






        share|improve this answer
















        It would certainly be of interest to the Attorney General of the State of New York, who is currently suing Trump over the legality of his charity organizations.



        The lawsuit alleges that Trump has been earmarking charitable donations that have actually been used to benefit Trump's personal, business, and political interests.




        The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, culminated a nearly two-year investigation of Mr. Trump’s charity, which became a subject of scrutiny during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. While such foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities, the petition asserts that Mr. Trump’s was often improperly used to settle legal claims against his various businesses, even spending $10,000 on a portrait of Mr. Trump that was hung at one of his golf clubs.




        Charity organizations are typically tax exempt - but they have to actually be charity organizations legally in order to maintain this tax exempt status.



        By December, the Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve under court supervision due to this lawsuit.




        The foundation was accused by the attorney general, Barbara Underwood, of “functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” and of engaging in “a shocking pattern of illegality” that included unlawfully coordinating with Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.



        In addition to shuttering the charity, her office has pursued a lawsuit that could bar President Trump and his three oldest children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as force the payment of millions in restitution and penalties.




        In the past, Trump had engaged in a scheme with jewelry stores to evade New York sales taxes:




        Trump would go into the store with his wife, his girlfriend, his...whatever (to use his vernacular). He would then buy her an expensive necklace or wristwatch. Normally, such a transaction would face the New York city and state sales tax, which would be pretty high on luxury jewelry.



        In an illegal attempt to evade the tax, Trump "asked" the store to instead ship the jewelry to an out of state location, where no New York sales tax could be collected. In fact, the store would merely send an empty jewelry box to the location, while Trump and his lady friends walked out the door with the jewelry that very day.



        The state and city tax collectors eventually caught onto this scheme, and Trump promptly testified against his erstwhile tax evasion colluding partners at the jewelry store in order to save his own skin.




        In short - it is of legal interest to the prosecuting team of New York State suing him for tax evasion as well as showing proven evidence of a historical pattern of tax fraud.







        share|improve this answer















        share|improve this answer




        share|improve this answer








        edited 9 hours ago









        Tangurena

        4752 silver badges7 bronze badges




        4752 silver badges7 bronze badges










        answered 13 hours ago









        ZibbobzZibbobz

        3401 gold badge4 silver badges14 bronze badges




        3401 gold badge4 silver badges14 bronze badges
























            1


















            This answer presumes that the returns contain nothing politically damaging to Trump.



            In this case, refusing ignites his opposition and gets them focused on getting the returns publicized. They begin to speculate about what is in them, and spend a whole lot of time an energy on them.



            Then when he decides that he has wasted enough of his opposition's time and energy, he releases them, and it's a nothingburger, and he catches his opposition flat-footed.



            It's an added bonus if his 2020 opponent stakes his/her credibility on there being something illicit in those returns, and loses face when this turns out not to be the case.



            (The fact that the 2016 election cycle went by without someone in the IRS anonymously leaking them leads me to believe that there is nothing at all damaging to Trump in his returns.)






            share|improve this answer





















            • 4





              -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

              – Alex Reynolds
              17 hours ago






            • 3





              Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

              – divibisan
              12 hours ago






            • 1





              This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

              – isakbob
              11 hours ago











            • Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago















            1


















            This answer presumes that the returns contain nothing politically damaging to Trump.



            In this case, refusing ignites his opposition and gets them focused on getting the returns publicized. They begin to speculate about what is in them, and spend a whole lot of time an energy on them.



            Then when he decides that he has wasted enough of his opposition's time and energy, he releases them, and it's a nothingburger, and he catches his opposition flat-footed.



            It's an added bonus if his 2020 opponent stakes his/her credibility on there being something illicit in those returns, and loses face when this turns out not to be the case.



            (The fact that the 2016 election cycle went by without someone in the IRS anonymously leaking them leads me to believe that there is nothing at all damaging to Trump in his returns.)






            share|improve this answer





















            • 4





              -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

              – Alex Reynolds
              17 hours ago






            • 3





              Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

              – divibisan
              12 hours ago






            • 1





              This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

              – isakbob
              11 hours ago











            • Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago













            1














            1










            1









            This answer presumes that the returns contain nothing politically damaging to Trump.



            In this case, refusing ignites his opposition and gets them focused on getting the returns publicized. They begin to speculate about what is in them, and spend a whole lot of time an energy on them.



            Then when he decides that he has wasted enough of his opposition's time and energy, he releases them, and it's a nothingburger, and he catches his opposition flat-footed.



            It's an added bonus if his 2020 opponent stakes his/her credibility on there being something illicit in those returns, and loses face when this turns out not to be the case.



            (The fact that the 2016 election cycle went by without someone in the IRS anonymously leaking them leads me to believe that there is nothing at all damaging to Trump in his returns.)






            share|improve this answer














            This answer presumes that the returns contain nothing politically damaging to Trump.



            In this case, refusing ignites his opposition and gets them focused on getting the returns publicized. They begin to speculate about what is in them, and spend a whole lot of time an energy on them.



            Then when he decides that he has wasted enough of his opposition's time and energy, he releases them, and it's a nothingburger, and he catches his opposition flat-footed.



            It's an added bonus if his 2020 opponent stakes his/her credibility on there being something illicit in those returns, and loses face when this turns out not to be the case.



            (The fact that the 2016 election cycle went by without someone in the IRS anonymously leaking them leads me to believe that there is nothing at all damaging to Trump in his returns.)







            share|improve this answer













            share|improve this answer




            share|improve this answer










            answered yesterday









            EvilSnackEvilSnack

            9985 silver badges12 bronze badges




            9985 silver badges12 bronze badges










            • 4





              -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

              – Alex Reynolds
              17 hours ago






            • 3





              Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

              – divibisan
              12 hours ago






            • 1





              This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

              – isakbob
              11 hours ago











            • Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago












            • 4





              -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

              – Alex Reynolds
              17 hours ago






            • 3





              Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

              – divibisan
              12 hours ago






            • 1





              This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

              – isakbob
              11 hours ago











            • Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago







            4




            4





            -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

            – Alex Reynolds
            17 hours ago





            -1. This is not a fact-based answer. This is supposition based on the answerer's political opinions.

            – Alex Reynolds
            17 hours ago




            3




            3





            Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

            – divibisan
            12 hours ago





            Also, it doesn't answer the question. The question is not why Trump might not have shared his tax returns, it's why the fact that he hasn't is important

            – divibisan
            12 hours ago




            1




            1





            This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

            – isakbob
            11 hours ago





            This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review

            – isakbob
            11 hours ago













            Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

            – jamesqf
            1 hour ago





            Not only do the above comments apply, if he HAD been doing something like this, the time to release the tax returns would have been last year :-)

            – jamesqf
            1 hour ago











            -5


















            I might get downvoted for saying this, but there's a very simple answer to this one:



            An awful lot of people hate Trump, and his unreleased tax returns are a convenient cudgel for them to metaphorically beat him with.



            We're talking about tax returns from, what, 3+ years ago now? Even if they might have been relevant then, they'd probably be a lot less relevant now, barring evidence of criminal activity.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 34





              I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

              – Jontia
              yesterday






            • 12





              That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

              – DJClayworth
              yesterday






            • 1





              This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

              – user3067860
              yesterday






            • 1





              This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

              – Nuclear Wang
              18 hours ago















            -5


















            I might get downvoted for saying this, but there's a very simple answer to this one:



            An awful lot of people hate Trump, and his unreleased tax returns are a convenient cudgel for them to metaphorically beat him with.



            We're talking about tax returns from, what, 3+ years ago now? Even if they might have been relevant then, they'd probably be a lot less relevant now, barring evidence of criminal activity.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 34





              I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

              – Jontia
              yesterday






            • 12





              That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

              – DJClayworth
              yesterday






            • 1





              This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

              – user3067860
              yesterday






            • 1





              This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

              – Nuclear Wang
              18 hours ago













            -5














            -5










            -5









            I might get downvoted for saying this, but there's a very simple answer to this one:



            An awful lot of people hate Trump, and his unreleased tax returns are a convenient cudgel for them to metaphorically beat him with.



            We're talking about tax returns from, what, 3+ years ago now? Even if they might have been relevant then, they'd probably be a lot less relevant now, barring evidence of criminal activity.






            share|improve this answer














            I might get downvoted for saying this, but there's a very simple answer to this one:



            An awful lot of people hate Trump, and his unreleased tax returns are a convenient cudgel for them to metaphorically beat him with.



            We're talking about tax returns from, what, 3+ years ago now? Even if they might have been relevant then, they'd probably be a lot less relevant now, barring evidence of criminal activity.







            share|improve this answer













            share|improve this answer




            share|improve this answer










            answered yesterday









            nick012000nick012000

            6721 gold badge3 silver badges13 bronze badges




            6721 gold badge3 silver badges13 bronze badges










            • 34





              I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

              – Jontia
              yesterday






            • 12





              That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

              – DJClayworth
              yesterday






            • 1





              This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

              – user3067860
              yesterday






            • 1





              This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

              – Nuclear Wang
              18 hours ago












            • 34





              I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

              – Jontia
              yesterday






            • 12





              That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

              – DJClayworth
              yesterday






            • 1





              This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

              – user3067860
              yesterday






            • 1





              This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

              – Nuclear Wang
              18 hours ago







            34




            34





            I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

            – Jontia
            yesterday





            I don't see how asking for something that is routinely produced by presidential candidates can be described as a "cudgel to beat him with". If it was his Birth certificate people were after...

            – Jontia
            yesterday




            12




            12





            That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

            – DJClayworth
            yesterday





            That's like saying "An awful lot of people hated Osama Bin Laden, and that's why they wanted to see him captured or killed.". It's true but it doesn't tell the whole story by a long way.

            – DJClayworth
            yesterday




            1




            1





            This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

            – user3067860
            yesterday





            This answer could be improved by addressing why Trump himself makes such a big deal about it. It seems like if it's just a cudgel then one of the people holding it and beating the hardest is Trump...

            – user3067860
            yesterday




            1




            1





            This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

            – Nuclear Wang
            18 hours ago





            This seems like circular reasoning - it's a convenient cudgel because people care about it. If no one cared about it, it would not be a convenient cudgel.

            – Nuclear Wang
            18 hours ago











            -7


















            A lot of never-trump think it is a big deal, because they think trump cheated on his taxes.



            A lot of politicians think it is a big deal, because they hope the never trump guys are right.



            Trump thinks it is a big deal because he is hiding something. Not something illegal (as he has been audited many times).



            What he is hiding is painfully obvious: Trump isn't nearly as rich as he claims to be.



            No multi-billionaire would waste his time, doing silly TV shows, renting his name out to real estate projects, or running nonsensical get-rich-now classes (at a technically legal trump university, technicallybecause there is no legal requirement to use the word university)






            share|improve this answer





















            • 1





              This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

              – Battle
              20 hours ago






            • 5





              @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

              – Jontia
              19 hours ago











            • @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago















            -7


















            A lot of never-trump think it is a big deal, because they think trump cheated on his taxes.



            A lot of politicians think it is a big deal, because they hope the never trump guys are right.



            Trump thinks it is a big deal because he is hiding something. Not something illegal (as he has been audited many times).



            What he is hiding is painfully obvious: Trump isn't nearly as rich as he claims to be.



            No multi-billionaire would waste his time, doing silly TV shows, renting his name out to real estate projects, or running nonsensical get-rich-now classes (at a technically legal trump university, technicallybecause there is no legal requirement to use the word university)






            share|improve this answer





















            • 1





              This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

              – Battle
              20 hours ago






            • 5





              @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

              – Jontia
              19 hours ago











            • @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago













            -7














            -7










            -7









            A lot of never-trump think it is a big deal, because they think trump cheated on his taxes.



            A lot of politicians think it is a big deal, because they hope the never trump guys are right.



            Trump thinks it is a big deal because he is hiding something. Not something illegal (as he has been audited many times).



            What he is hiding is painfully obvious: Trump isn't nearly as rich as he claims to be.



            No multi-billionaire would waste his time, doing silly TV shows, renting his name out to real estate projects, or running nonsensical get-rich-now classes (at a technically legal trump university, technicallybecause there is no legal requirement to use the word university)






            share|improve this answer














            A lot of never-trump think it is a big deal, because they think trump cheated on his taxes.



            A lot of politicians think it is a big deal, because they hope the never trump guys are right.



            Trump thinks it is a big deal because he is hiding something. Not something illegal (as he has been audited many times).



            What he is hiding is painfully obvious: Trump isn't nearly as rich as he claims to be.



            No multi-billionaire would waste his time, doing silly TV shows, renting his name out to real estate projects, or running nonsensical get-rich-now classes (at a technically legal trump university, technicallybecause there is no legal requirement to use the word university)







            share|improve this answer













            share|improve this answer




            share|improve this answer










            answered yesterday









            dolphin_of_francedolphin_of_france

            1




            1










            • 1





              This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

              – Battle
              20 hours ago






            • 5





              @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

              – Jontia
              19 hours ago











            • @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago












            • 1





              This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

              – Battle
              20 hours ago






            • 5





              @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

              – Jontia
              19 hours ago











            • @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

              – Battle
              17 hours ago











            • @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

              – jamesqf
              1 hour ago







            1




            1





            This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

            – Battle
            20 hours ago





            This answer, rightfully below 0, has a higher rating than that of nick012000. This one consists mostly of opinions and assertions with loaded words, while that of him may be short, but not provocative. The truth is simple though: Trump's opposition will use anything and everyone to slander and obstruct him. His tax returns, to which he is not obliged to publicize, is just more ammunition for his opponents. Do you believe, in case there is nothing bad about his tax returns, it will be held positively for him? No. It would be ignored and the Democrats would move on to the next slander instead.

            – Battle
            20 hours ago




            5




            5





            @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

            – Jontia
            19 hours ago





            @Battle that's just nonsense. If there is nothing bad in his tax returns that will be held positively for him, by Republicans and Republican leaning press. When was the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? Lets not attempt to play a double standards game. I'd also like some link for the Slander accusation, as far as I'm aware no one is specifically accusing him of tax fraud, perhaps they are making those implication a link would be nice. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous or a double standard.

            – Jontia
            19 hours ago













            @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

            – Battle
            17 hours ago





            @Jontia - There are several instances where Trump did something positive, which are however held negatively against him in the press. Also there are instances of so called "nothingburgers" which are still held negatively against him as well. I can't see a scenario where the same media which is continually smearing him at every opportunity would ever hold anything positively for him, and it's not like he needs positive press from his own side. They proved to be unfair, to say mildly, and quite fake.

            – Battle
            17 hours ago













            @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

            – Battle
            17 hours ago





            @Jonita - 2. the last time Trump put out something positive about a Democrat? - You are comparing the entire spectrum of the press with 1 person - not comparable. some link for the Slander accusation It's obvious that's what they want to do once the opportunity rises. Asking for him to do something he said he'd do and every candidate has done since 1976 is hardly slanderous Of course not. But they hold it against him that he refuses to, along with the thousand of other things which they already hold against him.

            – Battle
            17 hours ago













            @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

            – jamesqf
            1 hour ago





            @Battle: But when has Trump actually done something positive? Even leaving out the things where positive or not is a matter of political opinion, I can't think of anything.

            – jamesqf
            1 hour ago


















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