Thread: Donald Trump GRILLED On Tax Rate "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

Originally Posted by joe s

This is so standard and ordinary it shouldn't even be an issue. At this mans level of business and the professionals that serve him, this information should be readily available. I am certain it is complex, but to be under audit for the last thirteen years raises questions about how income and expenses are recognized and applied under GAAP. Needless to say, there should not have to be a full and complete disclosure, but main entries should be made available. As a taxpayer, I would expect nothing less from either candidate and this process does not mar or represent anything.

Clinton clearly does not want to release records of speeches, emails....etc. For her, I would only assume she has something to hide.

For Trump, maybe his reasons are different, but I guarantee he will eventually be forced to divulge this information. I am sure people are going to be surprised with many things on his tax return, but he is a wealthy man with multiple sources of income and accounting methods so the average person is only interested in a few items.

For those trying to pretend this is not an important step or process in the road to the presidency is taking everyone out there for stupid.

All the people who think tax returns have something to do with being a good President have Bernie or Hillary to choose on the November ballot. And no one can force Donald Trump to release his tax returns if he doesn't want to. There is no law that requires it for good reason. It's ironic that a practice started by Richard Nixon is even an issue to begin with.

Amazingly even the hardcore Trumpers would require this revelation from an opponent without feeling Trump is being persecuted, but it will not affect his bid for the presidency until it becomes an issue like it did with Romney. Suggesting people can vote for D1 and D2 is not a real solution for those who would want to vote for Trump. In fact, if Trump has to backpedal on some of his "suggestions", maybe that new crowd he brought over to the republican party may take your suggestion and vote for D1 or D2. That would not be good for Trump.

While there may be no law requiring the revelation of tax returns for a presidential candidate, we are all subject to the IRS and no candidate should ever be above showing their tax return. I would have said the law, but that does not apply.

Here better yet, what do you think is really inside his tax return that he doesn't want you to see?

1. Revenue that may not be commensurate with his net worth. Maybe it is and no embarrassment there.

2. Excessive use of tax loopholes, deductions and all kinds of interesting accounting gimmicks that are legal but would not sit well with voters.

3. A genuine tax return that has more adjustments to be made.

4. Nothing unusual for a man with over 500 different entities and will be revealed in time.

In the end, I think we all know Trump will be pressed hard to reveal it.

I don't care what's in his tax return or the tax return of anyone else. I'm opposed to the income tax. I think it's a vile thing passed by Socialist Globalists to empower oligarchs to eventually bankrupt our country. I didn't think Romney should have disclosed his tax returns. I could care less about any Democrat's tax returns. Tax returns are private, that privacy is protected by law, that privacy is sacred and no one should be harassed, hounded, expected or "forced" to disclose their tax returns to run for public office, which is WHY there is no law requiring it.

People who want to vote for Trump should vote for Trump and support his right to privacy, the same as you would expect him to support yours, whether it's on taxes or something else.

Trump isn't going to "backpedal" on anything. This man doesn't backpedal. He doubles down.

Again, a candidate is not required to disclose their tax return and no candidate should be criticized for choosing not to do so.

Trump is going to help US fix our country. He's going to build the wall, stop illegal immigration, deport illegal aliens, and fix our bad trade deals. He's going to slim down the budget, upgrade our military, improve our infrastructure, education and health care systems, and save Social Security and Medicare. He's going to stop our companies from leaving the US and bring companies who have left back to the US as fast as he can and bring all those good jobs with them.

He's already disclosed all his net income, net worth, companies, assets, and liabilities on his financial disclosure statements. You already have everything that's relevant to this election and to which you are entitled as a voter by law in the financial disclosure statements that were released last July 22, 2015, a 92 page documentation of his financial status.

I don't blame anyone for wanting to see them. But it's a purely optional exercise for the candidate, one they have every right to reject for any reason or no reason. That doesn't mean they have something to hide, it means their tax returns are their business and none of your business.

People want our elected officials to avoid government over-reach. Well this is one instance where voters need to take care not to over-reach on their candidates.

Whether we are a Trump supporter or not most of us are going to vote for Trump. That being said we do have a right to vet Trump. I do not understand why Trump supporters have been first in line to throw accusations at other candidates but consider Trump off limits. Regardless of whether you are for or against our tax system makes no difference. What makes a difference is that anyone doing research on Trump knows that this is not the first time Trump has been questioned on his net worth and tax returns. In a libel suit he filed he had to be ordered to turn over his tax returns and a New Jersey superior-court judge concluded that Trump was an untrustworthy source of financial data on himself. That decision was upheld by a three-judge appeals court, which noted that the "materials that Trump claimed to have provided were incomplete and unaudited." Trump lost that law suit.

Trump needs to answer these question and get them out of the way. Believe me the Clinton hacks are not going to back off.

It is so normal for a candidate to release their tax returns if they are running for president. This issue is not going to go away and while I can appreciate your position on income taxes, this is what allows governments to function. Trumps issue here which you cannot see is his tax rate. He doesn't want people to know his effective rate until after the election.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donal...ry?id=39086788

“You'll see it when I release but I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible,” Trump said. "I don’t have Swiss bank accounts," he said. "I don’t have offshore accounts." Trump went to say that he doesn’t not believe that voters have a right to see his tax returns before they vote, but that he would gladly made them public once the audit is over.
Really.


He is not fighting you or me on this and I completely disagree with you on this one (we are both going to let it slide) and that is ok, but he will have to battle Hillary and the press until he complies. I would expect no less from anyone running for this office.

Judy wrote:

Trump isn't going to "backpedal" on anything. This man doesn't backpedal. He doubles down.

He already backpedaled on an abortion issue and a few others, it doesn't affect me as a supporter. It doesn't make him any less of a candidate it makes him human. Don't be disappointed when it happens again, expect it if you want him to get into the white house. Just as long as it is not on illegal immigration.

Originally Posted by MontereySherry

. . . we do have a right to vet Trump. I do not understand why Trump supporters have been first in line to throw accusations at other candidates but consider Trump off limits. Regardless of whether you are for or against our tax system makes no difference . . .

Well said.

I think the Clinton Hacks need to be denied, not fed. Trump has every right to keep his tax returns confidential during an audit or forever. If someone wants to vote against him over it, then so be it. There should be no tax returns to demand to see to begin with, such vile worthless things from a vile income tax law that has bankrupted our country. How or why people think there is something legitimate to found in the puke of an illegitimate tax system is baffling to me.



FairTax Act of 2015: HR 25 in the US House of Representatives and S 155 in the US Senate. Pass it now and save America.

Mitt Romney calls Donald Trump’s refusal to release tax returns ‘disqualifying,’ again speculates of ‘bombshell’

Trump says he doesn't think voters are interested in what he paid in taxes.

–Matt Rourke / AP
By
Nik DeCosta-Klipa
May 11, 2016

Just as Donald Trump was engaging in a heated Twitter battle Wednesday afternoon with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another Massachusetts politician chimed in to ding the Donald.

Mitt Romney, who has been as consistent as Warren in his criticism of Trump, called the likely Republican presidential nominee’s refusal to release his tax returns “disqualifying.”

“The potential for hidden inappropriate associations with foreign entities, criminal organizations, or other unsavory groups is simply too great a risk to ignore for someone who is seeking to become commander-in-chief,” the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential nominee said in a Facebook post Wednesday.

In an interview earlier Wednesday with the Associated Press (the contents of which Trump later disputed), Trump reportedly said he doesn’t plan to release his tax returns anytime soon before the general election. Per the AP:

Despite pressure, the billionaire also doesn’t expect to release his tax returns before November, citing an ongoing audit of his finances. He said he will release them after the audit ends. But he said that he wouldn’t overrule his lawyers and instruct them to release his returns if the audit hasn’t concluded by November.

“There’s nothing to learn from them,” Trump told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. He also has said he doesn’t believe voters are interested.

At least one voter who is interested, Romney, said that Trump is free to release his tax returns, regardless of whether he is being audited.

“There is nothing that prevents releasing tax returns that are being audited,” he said. “Further, he could release returns for the years immediately prior to the years under audit.”

Apparently alerted to Romney’s remarks Wednesday, Trump tweeted shortly after the former governor’s post that the AP incorrectly reported what he had said.

But Julie Pace, one of the AP reporters who interviewed Trump, told CNN that Trump was using the audit, which may not be completed before November, as cover—rather than releasing his returns, as has every major party candidate since 1976.

“He still leaves himself this out by saying if this audit wraps up before the November election, then sure he’ll release his tax returns,” Pace said. “We said, ‘Will you push your lawyers on this, will you tell them that voters deserve to know this information regardless of the audit?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘One, the voters don’t actually care about this, and two, there is no new information that would come out of the tax returns.'”

Again, Romney disagrees.

As previously speculated, he said Wednesday that he believes Trump is hiding a “bombshell” of some kind in his tax returns.

“There is only one logical explanation for Mr. Trump’s refusal to release his returns: there is a bombshell in them,” Romney said. “Given Mr. Trump’s equanimity with other flaws in his history, we can only assume it’s a bombshell of unusual size.”

When Romney first floated his “bombshell” theory in February, hespecified that he thought Trump “hasn’t been paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay, or perhaps he hasn’t been giving money to the vets or to the disabled, like he’s been telling us he’s been doing.’’

Romney noted that he released his 2010 tax returns in January 2012 and his 2011 returns, “as soon as they were completed” in September 2012.

Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, has released tax returns from 2014 dating back to 2000.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/...-disqualifying

CRUZ RELEASES A TOTAL OF NINE YEARS OF TAX RETURNS, CALLS ON TRUMP TO STOP HIDING HIS OWN RETURNS

Citing the importance of transparency and accountability in electing the next President, Sen. Ted Cruz released four additional years of tax returns to the public. During his run for Senate, Cruz released his returns for years 2006 through 2010, and today he released returns for 2011 through 2014. He also called on Donald Trump to quit delaying the release of his own tax returns and make them public so Americans can do a proper vetting before deciding on a Republican nominee.

“It is time to stop the excuses,” said Cruz. “Donald Trump owes it to the American people to be fully vetted, and that includes releasing his tax returns so the voters can see the full financial picture. His claim that he can’t comply because he’s being audited is nonsense. If Donald is embarrassed about his tax returns, it’s up to the voters to assess the facts. It’s time to stop delaying and come clean with the American people.”

At the CNN Republican debate on Thursday, Trump explained his delaying tactics by saying, “I will absolutely give my return, but I’m being audited now for two or three years, so I can’t do it until the audit is finished… I want to release my tax returns but I can’t release it while I’m under an audit… Now, until that audit’s done, and I don’t think anybody would blame me, I’m not giving [my returns].”

In response to Trump’s claim, the IRS issued a statement that read in part, “Nothing prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information.”

Therefore, the only thing standing in the way of the American people being able to properly vet Donald Trump is Donald Trump.

In the past, Trump has also suggested he couldn’t release his returns because they are very complicated and take time to complete. However, that doesn’t explain why he wouldn’t be able to release returns that have already been filed.

Trump should follow Sen. Cruz’s example and release at least nine years of tax returns. If he is only being audited for “two or three years,” it should be a simple matter to release the previous years. And, since they’ve already been filed with the IRS, there is no reason that he could not release them immediately.
Some observers have suggested that Trump is hiding his returns because they may include embarrassing or controversial items. Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, has said there is likely a “bombshell” in Trump’s returns.

Speculation about a potential “bombshell” include doubts about Trump’s actual net worth. Several media publications, including Forbes and National Review, have reported that evidence suggests that Trump’s claimed wealth is vastly overstated.

In addition, it’s possible Trump has been a significant donor to left-wing organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, which would seriously undermine his claim to be pro-life. He has repeatedly said that he thinks Planned Parenthood “does wonderful things.”

Moreover, for decades, Trump donated to the most liberal members of the Democratic Party, so it is reasonable to question whether he has given to some of the most radical left-wing organizations as well.
“It’s time for Trump to come clean and release his tax returns,” added Cruz. “If he’s not been completely honest or has supported the most radical left-wing groups in America, voters deserve to know.”

Additionally, the fact that some years are being audited makes releasing those years under audit more important, not less important. The IRS has explicitly stated that the audits are not a barrier to Trump releasing those tax returns. And, if the audits reveal tax irregularities–or, even worse, tax fraud–then the primary voters deserve to know that before the primary, not after. Both the Democrats and the media will undoubtedly place great emphasis on any potential claims of tax fraud, and Republican primary voters should be able to evaluate to facts before they vote.

TED CRUZ’S TAX FACTS:

TED CRUZ’S TAX FORMS:

2011 2012 2013 2014

https://www.tedcruz.org/ted-cruz-tax-returns/

Mitt Romney calls Donald Trump’s refusal to release tax returns ‘disqualifying,’ again speculates of ‘bombshell’

That's so funny, Mitt. When you were stupid enough to release your tax returns, you were disqualified. Trump isn't stupid like you. He's not taking the bait, he's not falling for the scam. Finally, a candidate for President with a brain. We're tired of stupid, Mitt. That's why Trump has already surpassed your entire primary vote count by several million, has already surpassed the all-time record held by Bush II in 2000 and is well on his way to holding the all-time record for votes won in a Republican primary in US history by such a margin that he'll still hold it for as long as you'll be on this earth.

So put that in your bonnet and smoke it. He beat you, Mitt. He's beaten 17 other Republicans. And he'll beat Hillary or Bernie, whichever one gets the Democratic nomination.