Clinton Campaign Calls for Trump’s 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.”

TRUMP: “There’s nothing to learn from them.”

TRUMP: “It’s none of your business.”

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:

1. Trump may not be worth the $10 billion that he claims
2. Trump may pay little to no income tax
3. Trump is deeply in debt and owes a hundred million to a foreign bank
4. Trump wrongly under values his properties to local tax men
5. Trump is making a “flood of cash” from running for president
6. Trump is taking tax breaks he shouldn’t
7. Trump is hiding his lack of charitable donations

Here’s 5 FACTS we know about Trump’s tax returns:

1. In multiple years in which we know Trump’s tax rate, he paid a rate of 0%
2. Trump promised millions in charity, but reportedly gave less than $10,000 over a period of 7 years
3. Trump has accepted a grant intended for small businesses affected by 9/11
4. Trump has repeated accepted a tax break intended for middle-class people
5. Trump might not even be undergoing an audit in the first place – and he refuses to present a letter from the IRS, sent to every individual who is audited, to prove it

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.

New York Times: Letters to the Editor: “Why Won’t Trump Release His Taxes?”

Washington Post Editorial: “Even Mike Pence appears to disagree with Trump on releasing tax returns”

Huffington Post: “Even Donald Trump’s Supporters Are Telling Him To Release His Tax Returns”

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Clinton Campaign Releases Details of Proposed Democratic Party Platform

On Saturday, Hillary For America Senior Advisor Maya Harris released a statement following a Democratic Platform Drafting Committee meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. The meeting was one of four held around the country allowing national and local Democrats to gather and discuss the party’s platform. While the official platform will not be adopted until the Democratic National Convention next month, several proposed platform points are discussed in Harris’ statement including a $15 minimum wage, updates to the country’s prison system, a commitment to clean energy and fighting climate change, and ensuring everyone pays their fair share of taxes. Videos from the drafting committee hearings are available on the Democratic National Convention’s YouTube Channel and, the full statement from Harris is below:

“We are proud that the draft 2016 Democratic Platform, which the drafting committee approved yesterday, represents the most ambitious and progressive platform our party has ever seen, and reflects the issues Hillary Clinton has championed throughout this campaign, from raising wages and creating more good-paying jobs to fixing our broken immigration system, reforming our criminal justice system, and protecting women’s reproductive health and rights. As our Chairman, Congressman Elijah Cummings, directed us at the outset, our platform does not merely reflect common ground—it seeks higher ground.

For the first time ever, our platform calls for ending mass incarceration, shutting down the school-to-prison pipeline, and taking on the challenges of systemic racism. This year’s platform contains the most ambitious jobs plan on record, including historic investments in infrastructure, pledges to increase American manufacturing and stop companies from shipping jobs overseas, and a robust, stand-alone plank on youth jobs. It contains ambitious, progressive principles on wages, stating that working people should earn at least $15 an hour, citing New York’s minimum wage law and calling for raising and indexing the federal minimum wage. It also calls for the elimination of the ‘tipped’ wage and for the right of workers to form or join a union.  And for the first time, the Democratic Party platform explicitly calls for repealing the Hyde Amendment, which restricts access to women’s reproductive rights, particularly low-income women and women of color.

Four years ago, the Democratic platform called for an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy. This platform moves far beyond that framework, with a robust commitment to combating climate change and ambitious goals, like generating 50 percent of our electricity from clean sources within a decade. This vision was further strengthened through an amendment offered by representatives of both campaigns to see America running entirely on clean energy by mid-century.

We are also pleased that there were many issues where committee members worked collaboratively to articulate a bold vision, including making sure Wall Street greed and recklessness never again threatens American families and businesses on Main Street; proposing a surtax on multi-millionaires to ensure the richest among us are paying their fair share to build an economy that works for everyone; and expanding Social Security benefits by raising more revenue above the $250,000 threshold.

Members also worked together on framing Democrats’ shared commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, with an eloquent unity amendment stating, ‘Immigration is not a problem to be solved, it is a defining aspect of the American character and history to be supported and defended against those who would exclude or eliminate legal immigration avenues and denigrate immigrants.’

And we are proud the draft 2016 Democratic platform sets forward progressive principles and high standards on trade, including calling for trade agreements to be more protective of workers’ rights, labor rights, the environment, and public health. The draft reviewed by committee members yesterday included a call to review past trade agreements and update them to reflect these principles. An amendment adopted yesterday further emphasized the fact that many Democrats oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership because ‘the agreement does not meet the standards set out in this platform.’ Hillary Clinton is one of those Democrats, and has been strongly and unequivocally on the record opposing TPP. Just this week, she said, ‘We will defend American jobs and American workers by saying ‘no’ to bad trade deals and unfair trade practices, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.’

Make no mistake about it: The 2016 Democratic platform represents an ambitious, progressive agenda that all Democrats can and should be proud of.”

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