Donald Trump Says He "Can't" Release His Tax Returns. But It Looks More Like He Just Won't.
There's no legal prohibition on releasing returns under audit.

Donald Trump says he "can't" release his tax returns because he's being audited. But there's not actually any legal restriction on doing so.
Trump has come under pressure recently to release his personal tax data after former GOP nominee Mitt Romney began suggesting that there might be a "bombshell" lurking in the information, and that Trump might have something to hide.
That's pretty ironic, given that questions about Romney's tax returns dogged him throughout the 2012 presidential election, especially after Harry Reid said he'd heard from an unnamed source that Romney didn't pay any taxes at all. This, of course, turned out not to be true. What Romney is doing to Trump, in other words, looks a lot like what Reid did to Romney.
But Romney has forced Trump to respond. At last night's GOP debate, Trump was asked about whether he'd release his returns. Trump said he wanted to release his returns, but that he was under audit.
After a follow-up from moderator Hugh Hewitt, Trump said: "I want to release my tax returns but I can't release it while I'm under an audit. We're under a routine audit. I've had it for years, I get audited. And obviously if I'm being audited, I'm not going to release a return."
But as Politico reports, nothing in the law prohibits him from releasing his returns. And not all of his taxes are being audited.
Stanford law professor Joseph Bankman said it's not so odd for a man of Trump's wealth to be subjected to repeated audits. "A lot of super wealthy individuals, and all large companies, are audited every year," Bankman said Thursday night.
But he said Trump's statement that he "can't" publicly release his returns is a headscratcher.
"I'm not sure why that prevents him from releasing his returns. They are his to release," Bankman said.
While tax returns are confidential by law and can't be released by the IRS, there's no legal restriction on Trump publicly releasing his own forms if he sees fit. Also, some of Trump's past returns are not under audit. At this point, he hasn't released those either.
It is possible, given Trump's penchant for descriptive imprecision, that when Trump said, "I can't release it while I'm under an audit" he meant something other than, "I am legally prohibited from doing so."
But it's unclear what that something else might be, and hard to imagine that anything else would really qualify as a restriction making him unable to release his returns. What it sounds like, then, is that when Trump says he can't release his returns, what he really means is that he won't.
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I really can't imagine what would be in Trump's returns that would make any difference with his base at this point.
I'm guessing, based on his lost lawsuit, that there is an embarrassing lack of income for a supposed billionaire. But that really won't make any difference to the converted.
If you were a billionaire would you try to minimize your taxable income?
Or maximimize it?
Even the democrats I work with, they all want to pay as little tax as possible. Weird.
It's not just the converted who don't care, no one does, unless they're hoping there to be something. The only ones that bring it up is the press and the anti whoever. How many non press and those actually hoping to find something actually read those politburo member's tax returns. I hope if and when he does it'll show that he was able to pay less than minimum tax. He'll be run over the coal for doing what he can to pay less tax, that just shows how stupid those are who complain. He should wait and demand billary show her and the clinton corporation tax returns. Demand a total disclosure.
People have been questioning whether he makes as much money as he says he does, and if he is worth as much money as he says he is. Presumably because if he isn't telling the truth about this, then that means he isn't telling the truth about other things. Though it will matter to his supporters about as much as Obama's birth certificate mattered to his supports. As in not at all.
A very good point, and a good analogy.
If he's doing it right, Trump the man doesn't make any money. Trump the corporation makes money and pays Donald a modest but respectable salary.
thats more likely the case but most American's don't understand that part.
And their hoping to use class envy against him, the problem is, he doesn't run away from being wealthy. He already said he pays as little as he can. People know he's probably filthy rich. Seems those who support him don't care if people make money and do what they can to keep it, they want to be able to themselves and neither party actually wants that to happen.
Exactly.
The Trump Organization is an LLC, which is a pass-thru entity for federal income tax purposes. It's income should be on his return, assuming he is the sole-owner.
But if so Trump the man would need to get money for his lavish spending and he would likely (not surely) need to get that money out of his corporations. That would likely create a taxable income event. But even if that's the case your point is well taken: his total taxable income would probably be much less than his corporations(s).
What would be a ballpark estimate on a modest but respectable salary for someone like Trump?
Has he ever claimed that he has X amount of taxable income per year?
Net worth is not directly related to taxable income.
I bet you can tell a lot about his actual net worth from his return. The Trump Organization is an LLC, which is a pass-thru entity. Meaning all its income and deductions are on his personal return. Since he's really into real estate, many of his major deductions will be debt on the properties he owns. That's likely to offset a lot of their value. Also, he's notoriously squirmy about what properties he actually owns and which ones he just has licensing interests in. That will come through on the return too (although I think much of that is already known from public real estate records).
The funny thing is that, if he is to be believed, most of Trump's billion is based on the worth of his "Brand". That should not show up on his tax returns, since he isn't selling it or anything. It's like owning a bunch of stock. Unless you sell it and make a profit (or loss), they aren't earnings for your tax return.
That said, it is also possible that he has recorded a major loss, or that he has significant liquid assets over seas, which could harm his "business guru" or nativist bonafides.
Not sure about that. I think if they show a bunch of foreign investment it would make some pretty yuuuge waves.
Yeah chalk that up under stuff that would hurt his nativist bonafides. But it is important to note that foreign investment would likely be in his company, and would not show on his personal income tax. He would just get a line item for any pass through profits from the company, and likely investments in the company don't directly go to profit.
Indeed, I believe most of Trump's income starts in individually held subsidiaries that then pass profits up to Tump Organization. So a new resort project is held in a different company that gets investment, and profits are shared between the various owners, including Trump Org. It would take some work to dive down into those subsidiaries- even if the records were made public, which is unlikely.
He certainly is selling his brand. He licenses his name to be on buildings, clothing lines, etc. His brand isn't worth anything more than the present value of that income stream.
He's filed his FEC financial disclosures. The only thing that could possibly be shocking on his tax returns would be his effective tax rate. But I'm not sure his supporters would really care one way or another about that.
Really? He would be lying? Unlike Rubio, or Cruz or Clinton?
I really don't give a shit about Trump's return, and I doubt it will influence either his supporters or his detractors.
This is the important point. His 1040 will say nothing about wealth--only income. Unless there is something immoral or illegal, a candidate's tax return (I just remembered how euphemistic that term is) means nothing. Romney had to make his public to squash the leftist meme that the wealthy pay no taxes. But for other candidates, the tax return says nothing.
If he has been, as he claims, been audited every year the something would have come out already. Especially under the obama irs.
That's a very eloquent way of calling someone a liar. I like it.
"Can't " encompasses more than "am legally prohibited", you know.
If I tell someone I can't show them a physician's employment contract, its not because its against the law to do so.
I'm betting that Trump is following totally routine legal advice not to release his returns while they are being audited. There's any number of good reasons to follow this advice, including not provoking the IRS by making this a public fight.
including not provoking the IRS by making this a public fight
A good point. And since you bring that up, I suspect that Trump would do the most housecleaning of the IRS of any viable candidate.
I'd like to think so but somehow, once he's in power, he'll suddenly realize the vital function the IRS serves.
Yes, punishing his political enemies.
If he has to amend his return as a result of the audit -- which probably also is "routine" with him -- I think it would be an even bigger issue if he has to explain why the IRS required the change.
Or the advice of his attorneys.
I can see why he wouldn't release them despite it being legal. When you're the defendant in a civil or criminal case it's also not necessarily illegal to discuss your case with the media, but still a terribly bad idea to do so.
At least he could've done us a favor and made up some insane bullshit on the spot: "Hey people! The 55th amendment to the U.S. Constitution says I can't release my tax returns."
actually I don't think there is any legal requirement to show your returns to anybody except the IRS. It like voting you are not required to tell anybody how you vote and i wish more people would abide by that rule.
This. The correct response to the media demanding to see his - or anyone else's - tax return is "fuck off".
"What Romney is doing to Trump, in other words, looks a lot like what Reid did to Romney."
Not defending Romney here, but perhaps Romney's takeaway from being stung by Reid's accusations was: Hey, Reid didn't suffer any ramifications from slinging shit at me, so I guess that's how the game is played these days.
Romney should just stay home dry-cleaning his magic underwear.
That's the thing, though--is there really any benefit to releasing them after someone's accused you of being a tax cheat? It certainly didn't help Romney.
That's where I think Trump made an error here. He forgot his own "double down and never apologize" rule. Instead of saying he's not going to release them while he's under audit--which is perfectly fine to keep the IRS from crawling further up your ass, but most people won't understand that--just say, "Nah, this is private information and I don't feel like releasing it. If you're saying you know more about my tax returns than I do, I'm going to nail your ass for Privacy Act violations." Saying that he can't release it under audit just allows his opponents to parse all the legal ways he can do so, even if the legality isn't actually at stake.
Just say, "no, fuck you" and move on. If Obama can get away with having his college records sealed, Trump's under no obligation, really, to release his tax records. Nor are any of the other candidates for that matter. The optics might not look good initially, but in the end no one will really give a damn. If the IRS was going to hammer him on being a perpetual tax cheat, it would have been in the tabloids at some point over the last 35 years.
Also good.
"Hey, if a loser like Mitt Romney wants to make these kind of accusations in public, he needs to back them up. Who's your source, Mitt? What did they tell you? Did you try to verify any of it, or did you just run for the nearest microphone because you still haven't gotten over losing?"
I don't think anyone understands just how deep Romney is in the GOP. All of the changes that were made by the GOP back in '12 to neuter the Paulista revolution were handled by Romey insiders. This was done with the plan that Romney would be the president for 8 years, which didn't work out. But to my knowledge, he still holds a lot of strings in the nomination process and has to be angry that he isn't able to shape the GOP in his graven image. Why, I'm sure he had binders full of candidates that were going to be his disciples in the GOP for decades.
To that extent, Romney is the Clinton of the GOP- working all the levers of power politics in the organization behind the scene. And true to GOP form, they are just terrible at this stuff compared to the Dems.
Romney sucks but he lacks the criminal aptitude of Hillary
Yep, he should have just said all along that no I will not release them,
Romney wants back in, as if he could beat clinton. The guy is a bigger weasel than rubio.
Trump's returns are obviously prepared by licensed professionals. If I was him, I'd have my tax lawyer issue a public letter, along the lines of
"We've reviewed his returns and are defending Donald Trump in the IRS audit. We have advised him, as we advise every client in similar situations, not to release their returns to the public during an audit. It is our understanding that this is a routine audit*, and we have no reason to believe that any errors that might be discovered were intentional."
I'd follow that up with a poltical advisor saying that Trump is willing to release his returns and risk IRS retaliation if all the candidates, including the Dems, simultaneously release their returns.
Finally, I'd have the Donald say something like "You know whose returns have already been publicly questioned, and are probably fake as a three dollar bill? The Clintons. Take a look at their so-called charitable foundation, if you are looking for a financial scandal."
Forgot the footnote:
*Assuming it is routine. If its not, well, hello new campaign issue: Donald Trump is being targeted by the IRS, which has a history of attacking conservatives and Republicans.
I'm surprised Donald is fumbling this. There are so many ways to turn it from a liability into an asset.
"There's a lot of Republicans who know what it feels like to be unfairly targeted by certain people at the IRS--look at Lois Lerner! Now, I'm not saying that's what's happening here, because I go through audits all the time. I have a lot of assets worth a lot of money and it helps us keep things straight. The folks at the IRS have always treated me well and we have a great working relationship. But we know that some Republicans didn't get that same benefit when Lerner was running the show."
Yeah, given the recent IRS PHAIK SKANDUL!!!!!, Trump could absolutely be using this as a way to gin up conservatives.
Leverage, seems everything the guy is doing is for leverage.
Probably because he doesn't have donors and handlers to tell him what to think. I have noticed a lot he could do to put down the other two idiots. I'm surprised he doesn't talk more about them being in the establishment, ask them what they promised their donors (a Laura Ingram question). Talk about the people giving them money, he did once with rubes taking proctor and gamble money.
I'd follow that up with a poltical advisor saying that Trump is willing to release his returns and risk IRS retaliation if all the candidates, including the Dems, simultaneously release their returns.
Brilliant.
RC, keep talking like this and you will be drafted into the new US Department of Campaign Management. (It's part of an amendment to restore power to the people by making campaigns run by the government.)
I have to burn more brain cells on medical staff politics than coming up with ways to make these so-called professional campaign managers look like idiots.
I'm actually shocked by Trump's campaign management, but that's probably because there isn't any. Any wet behind the ears political strategist had to know that the timing of Romney's release was specifically planned to ensure it was discussed in the debates. I can only guess that this excuse was the first one he came up with and the yesmen on his staff just let him roll with it.
The only thing I can reason is that Trump is the campaign management. He knows PR, so he has 75% of running a campaign. But everyone indicates that his ground game and other local organization is hit or miss and this issue seems to be another example of the actual political strategy being pretty meh in his organization.
Take a look at their so-called charitable foundation, if you are looking for a financial scandal
^So very much this
Semi-OT: Sanders now has an official, honest-to-goodness Indian, "Native American Advisor." Derpbook progs are posting this like it is some sort of thing.
Apparently there's some youtube video out there of him getting harangued in Minnesota by an Indian elder. Not surprised that this would be the end result.
Sanders is leagues better than Clinton, but damn if he isn't one of the most spineless jellyfish I've ever seen in a candidate. If he ever did get elected, Putin would probably legitimately give him a wedgie without any repercussions.
I hope he doesn't release his taxes since the Clintons never have and never will. And the second Hillary ask for his at a debate he can say ladies first. end of that conversation, not really since the lefts rules only apply to others.
She asked first! If he doesn't show his returns then he is hiding something! Why do you hate women?!?
ladies first
Cite required.
I saw some of her prolapsed uterus hanging out her pantsuit leg once.
*faints dead away*
Seems to me this may be something of a briar patch scenario; let's say when he releases his returns, that:
a) Fraud is found. Trump has just wasted however-many millions on a pointless campaign. But then, maybe he never got so much exposure for so little.
b) No fraud is found. The other candidates look bad, basically having falsely accused him, and they have wasted time attacking on an angle that they shouldn't have.
It seems at least possible that his taxes are actually already figured out, he knows where he stands, and he is just letting the others play into a little game, where he gets to control how things look, on his own terms, and in his own time.
Fraud will never be discovered on his returns. He has way too many extremely high-paid attorneys and CPAs poring over them to ever be accused of intentional misrepresentation.
At worst, the IRS will ding him for being too aggressive with a deduction here or there (but the aggressiveness will be "reasonable" and he'll just have to file a straightforward amendment to cure, assuming his professionals don't successfully appeal the finding). Regardless, it will still be problematic to explain to the public why the IRS required an amendment; if you're going to publicize anything, publicize the IRS-approved final tax return.
Maybe he owes taxes which is actually the smart thing to do. And he did, those antiTrumpites will have a field day telling the ignorant liberals that this is a bad thing. Why let the gov't collect interest on your over payments?
If Republicans had gone after Obama as hard as they are going after Trump, they wouldn't have the problem of Trump right now.
+ 13T increase in national debt
Alternately, the Republicans obsession with Obama's citizenship and whether he was a double secret mooselimb made them look like the petty vindictive children that they are, which contributed to them losing the election.
Yeah, the Republican candidates just couldn't shut up about all that, Hugh.
More accurately, the eagerness with which the DemOp media sought out and foregrounded fringe nutters succeeded in painting the Republican candidates as petty vindictive children, etc.
And of course, they don't do that with Democrats. Unless I missed the mainstream media concern over the CPUSA's endorsement of Obama.
While the nutters are not justified in their proclamations, Obama had one foreign parent and lived abroad through much of his childhood. He deliberately fanned the flames by playing games with releasing his birth certificate. Unlike, say, not being a tax cheat, not being a foreigner is actually a Constitutional requirement for someone to become President.
Yeah because it's not normal for a member of one party to criticize pretty much everything the other party does huh
Thats because they are proving that they are no different than the democrats. They are the one side of the same coin. All they care about is power and protecting big money. Those pulling the strings are the ones who dictate policy. Cruz, rubio, clinton are owned by the corporations. Trump is his own corporation, how that will pan out no one knows yet.
I hope they get his doctor or someone like him to write up a statement of Trump's fiscal health.
"He has no history of every using alcohol..."
STOP. RIGHT. THERE.
No vote for you, Donny!
Trump doesn't want to show his income,lack of donations and how his net worth is far lower.He's in real estate and much of what he has is most likely leveraged.There's also the fact that his business model has many more tax breaks,sucks in government money and tax exemptions.He's a fucking crony.And so is Hillary and Sanders is a evil socialist. Pick you poison.
"Trump doesn't want to show his income,lack of donations and how his net worth is far lower."
His approximate income and net worth have already been released on his FEC disclosures -- http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/22.....eport.html -- which he certified as true. And I'm sure he donates to the maximum extent that would lower his tax burden.
When the IRS has their next data breach we'll have everyone's tax returns and then it won't matter.
Maybe prez billary will put that info on her private email so it would be easier for the chinese, iranians, russians, etc., to hack.
I'm not sure what would be more frightening to read: Trump's tax records or Hillary's medical records.
Maybe they should release them jointly as a package deal.
OT:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-duty.html
So that's what it takes for a cop to lose his job.
Perimeter security? WTF? Oh, right, there is a War on Copz raging out of control...
Look,he wasn't there to make sure a wounded cop wasn't treated better that the surfs,M'kay?
Not entirely OT: Immigration continues to benefit Norway.... 'Soldiers of Allah' to counter Soldiers of Odin
Everyone knows that Thor and his people died when they exploded their home world to keep the Ori from getting their tech.Something ,something,cloning.It's O'Neill,2 ll's.
So I guess letting women conceal carry is completely out of the question?
I'd think the Norwegians were really pathetic if they didn't turn to vigilantism under those conditions. Yeah, the white pride people go over the edge first, of course . . .
What'd they expect?
They expected the Norwegians to bend over and take it. Obviously.
Equivalently, the right to keep and bear arms continues to be a better guarantor of liberty than governments.
Both Hillary and Trump are immune to this stuff in the primaries.
Maybe it'll be more important in the general erection [sic], but Democrat primary voters don't care if Hillary is a crook, and Trump fags don't care about his tax returns either.
I HATE the "so and so won't release their tax returns" game every election. IDGAF.
We've heard all this before, and right here.
First he wasn't as rich as he said. Then he wouldn't release a financial statement. Then he had zero chance of winning.
But keep it up. You might be right once. Eventually.
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I'm more interested in Hillary's medical records, which contrary to what she says, have not been released. All we've seen is a note from her doctor saying she's fine, which is obviously not the case.
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I doubt, with the kind of professional tax advice Trump can buy, that he has done anything fraudulent. But he'll obviously be taking every deduction and credit possible without crossing any lines into illegality. But if he releases a return before audit, every freaking columnist and oppo political operative will be opining - from their own deep depth of knowledge about tax laws - if such and such a line item is correct or not. Look at the legal nonsense that brews up over Cruz' status as a natural born citizen.
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You don't get it. Trump doesn't give a fuck that you want to see his tax return. That's why he's so popular, because he's not an easily manipulated pussy. How embarrassing for you that you don't understand this.
Trump should tell them to screw off, he isn't showing anyone how much he made last year, or any year. When cruz and baby rubio (everytime he smiles that condescending smile I wish some would slap him) whine and try to make it an issue he should just tell them they do it because they never held a real job in their lives and that he doesn't "obey" the media or any handlers or donors.
So it's possible, and I'd say likely, that the entire article is based on putting words into Trump's mouth.
A journalist might have made a call to the Trump campaign asking for a clarification. Maybe Reason should hire one.
He should release them. It would make America grate again.
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Yes, Trump is lying.
So are Cruz and Rubio.
It's time for any real libertopian to admit it - HRC is your best choice. She'd mean the status quo, but that is better than the bat-manure insanity that is coming out of the Republican party. Hopefully you guys wake up and realize how skanky your bedfellows are.
That's the Progressitarian Moment I'm waiting for - when Reason endorses Putin with a Vagina, because OPEN BORDERZ.
There is no Reason why a Presidential candidate should release private information before he is on the national ballot. Reagan did not release his income tax return in 1976 and did not do so in 1980 until he the nomination wrapped up. States have no business even conducting primary elections.
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You only question him because your are a nobody loser ugly bleeding-in-all-sorts-of-places liar. (dramatization)
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