Following a report that Donald Trump used money from the Trump Foundation to settle his legal issues, Hillary for America Deputy Communications Director Christina Reynolds responded with the following statement:
“Clearly the Trump Foundation is as much a charitable organization as Trump University is an institute of higher education. Trump’s version of charity is taking money from others to settle his own legal issues and buy at least two pictures of himself, which experts say is a clear violation of laws governing charitable organizations. Once again, Trump has proven himself a fraud who believes the rules don’t apply to him. It’s past time for him to release his tax returns to show whether his tax issues extend to his own personal finances.”
In response to Vice Presidential Candidate Mike Pence’s release of his tax returns, HFA Deputy Communications Director Christina Reynolds said:
“We’re pleased to see that one member of the Trump ticket has decided to meet the long-held threshold for disclosure in a modern day presidential campaign. But it’s Donald Trump – who just this week attacked America’s generals and showered praise on Russia’s authoritarian leader – running to be our next president. Trump has continued to hide behind fake excuses to avoid coming clean with the American people, thumbing his nose at a basic level of transparency practiced by every major party nominee since 1976. As prominent Republicans have speculated, Trump’s returns could reveal further ties to Russia and its oligarchs, the truth about his personal wealth, or more lies about his charitable contributions. But we won’t know until we see them. According to a recent poll, more than than six in 10 Republicans are now asking: what is Trump hiding?”
Last month, Tim Kaine released 10 years of tax returns. On the same day, Hillary Clinton released her 2015 personal tax return, building on the Clintons’ tradition of making their returns public since 1977. You can view both Clinton and Kaine’s returns here.
Considering Trump has released his taxes under audit before, and his actions help determine the speed at which the IRS can complete the audit, why won’t Trump release his tax returns and what is he hiding? Here’s a few theories:
Trump may not be worth the $10 billion that he claims
Prominent Republicans question what Trump is hiding in his tax returns:
George Will: “Perhaps one more reason why we’re not seeing his tax returns is because he is deeply involved in dealing with Russian oligarchs.”
Mitt Romney: “Either he’s not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is” or “There’s a bombshell in Donald Trump’s taxes.”
Mark Sanford: “I Support You, Donald Trump. Now Release Your Tax Returns.”
Is there ANY way to make Trump release his tax returns? Last month, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Member Chris Murphy called for the Senate to vote on their bill, the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, to require presidential nominees to release their tax returns after their conventions.
In the meantime, media, pundits, and Americans across the country continue to challenge Trump to release his tax returns.
On Thursday, Hillary for America released information and a new television ad calling the lack of tax returns from Donald Trump into question. While Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have made their tax returns public, Trump has yet to do so. View the ad and read the HFA’s release below.
Donald Trump’s Tax Returns: What’s He Hiding?
For 40 years, major party nominees have publicly released their tax returns – a simple and basic disclosure, made to the American people as they determine which candidate is best fit for the presidency. In accordance with this decades-old tradition, Hillary Clinton has made nearly 40 years of tax returns available to the public over the course of her career, dating back to 1977. You can find the past 9 years of her returns here.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump refuses to release his tax returns, despite his promise in 2014 that he “absolutely” would release them if he ran for president. Watch Trump promise to release his returns here.
TRUMP: “If I decide to run for office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely, and I would love to do that.”
Of course, Trump changed his mind when he actually became a candidate for president.
TRUMP: “I want to release my tax returns but I can’t release it while I’m under an audit.”
Contradicting his own logic, Trump has released his tax returns while under audit in the past – when the disclosure of his tax returns would benefit his business interests – such as his application for a license to open a casino.
CNN: “Donald Trump insists he won’t release his tax returns during his 2016 presidential run because those returns are the subject of ongoing Internal Revenue Service audits. When he’s had casinos on the line, it’s been a different story.”
Further, Trump has the ability to slow down the audit of his tax returns depending on his rate of response to the IRS – meaning he may be able to make his poor excuse, that his audit prevents his tax return disclosure, last as long as he wants.
WSJ: “Donald Trump says he will release his tax returns when an IRS audit concludes… the Republican presidential nominee omits one major point: He and his attorneys have substantial knowledge about when the audit will end and some ability to slow the process.”
Considering Trump has released his taxes under audit before, and his actions determine the speed at which the IRS can complete the audit, why won’t Trump release his tax returns and what is he hiding? Here’s a few theories:
Trump may not be worth the $10 billion that he claims
Prominent Republicans question what Trump is hiding in his tax returns:
George Will: “Perhaps one more reason why we’re not seeing his tax returns is because he is deeply involved in dealing with Russian oligarchs.”
Mitt Romney: “Either he’s not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is” or “There’s a bombshell in Donald Trump’s taxes.”
Mark Sanford: “I Support You, Donald Trump. Now Release Your Tax Returns.”
Is there ANY way to make Trump release his tax returns? Yesterday, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Member Chris Murphy are calling for the Senate to vote on their bill, the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, to require presidential nominees to release their tax returns after their conventions.
In the meantime, media, pundits, and Americans across the country continue to challenge Trump to release his tax returns.