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He played everyone. From the beginning, he kept saying that they were going to release his tax papers to satisfy the people asking for them. He knew he was never going to release them. Why play it up that he would if he never had any intention of doing so. I’ve watched countless video of him saying he had no issue releasing them. He’s a liar. End of story.
I think they should be required to release returns before the election. The tax returns can give us voters some insight into the candidate that could influence our vote. For example, they might tell whether the candidate has financial dealings with another country that would serve as a conflict of interest if they were to be elected. Also, one thing I always like to do is compare what percentage of the candidate's income they donate to charity. It tells us something about the person's moral character.
What if we've elected someone with conflicts of interest? Obvious conflicts of interest? Ones that are influencing him right at this moment?
Everyone has conflicts of interests. I know exactly why you want to see someone's tax returns, I'm saying it's not a requirement to run for president and shouldn't be mandated. Other than the basic age and natural born citizen requirement - the only requirement to become president is a popularity contest over the aggregate 50 states. If a candidate doesn't release his returns, feel free to voice your displeasure and withhold your vote.
This is a flimsy basis for presuming that everything will be above-board. With Trump's tweets about the Mueller investigations (and the response from much of his base), we're witnessing what happens when a government body investigates something that a high-profile target doesn't want exposed.
If Mueller, a Republican, is leading a team of "13 Angry Democrats," just imagine what Trump and his supporters would say about a tax audit from the IRS -- an agency that is already vilified by people on both ends of the political spectrum.
Hint: it would turn political very quickly, and 40-60% of the country would reject the results, whatever the outcome.
I'm satisfied with regular audits. I need proof that something is not above board before wanting some kind of public inquiry outside of the normal audit process. I have no reason to suspect that Trump--while taking advantage of every loophole that he can--is not adhering to USA tax law. He has a team of high paid attorneys well versed in tax law filing his forms. The left wants the taxes released to embarrass by showing his low tax rate. Nothing more.
I believe every nominee with the exception of Donald Trump has done so for the past 4 decades. While there isn't a law about it, there's certainly a precedent.
Releasing tax returns shows a certain degree of transparency. It was in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, in which it also arose that Nixon possibly falsified some info on his taxes (or rather, his accountants did) back in 69/70, that nominees began making their returns public.
I personally think that the reason President Trump has not released his, is not necessarily because of dodgy dealings, but because his income and worth is significantly less than what he claims.
And the fact that he didn't......and still got elected.....especially after promising to release them.....really 'chaps the hide' of a number of progressives.
If the records being hidden reflect illegal activity, the pubic has a right to know.
If there was illegal activity, the IRS would already know, since a tax return is an IRS form submitted to the IRS.
People that cheat the IRS go to jail. That's how you know they did something illegal with their tax return.
Also, big time wealthy people are audited almost every single year. Trump gets audited all the time, because the IRS likes going after big name scalps, same as the SEC and the other watchdog agencies. They've spent 30+ years trying to get Trump, and they haven't. Now if he is a s dumb as everyone claims, and was up to no good, the IRS would have already nailed him. Pretty odd that in all those years of trying, they haven't, eh? So what special investigative accounting skills and acumen do you and the media bring to the table that the folks in the audit division of the IRS don't possess?
This should happen when first seeking election and every year they are in office. Presidential power is such that any executive decision could influence stock markets or financial decisionmaking resulting in a financial gain for the person in the office. If a president or public official lies about financial holdings or income, the tax records would be useful to set the record straight or serve as evidence in a tax fraud case.
He's a politician and the only one to not play that game in 40 years.
Are you saying with a straight face that John Kerry didn't play that game?
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