• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

So, Mr Trump, when will you release your tax returns?

radcen

radcen

Phonetic Mnemonic ©
DP Veteran
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
34,817
Reaction score
18,576
Location
Look to your right... I'm that guy.
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Centrist
So, Mr Trump, when will you release your tax returns? Will it be when the audits are done, or will it be when Hillary releases her emails? We're a little unclear on exactly when.
Partial transcript from last night's debate: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/us/politics/transcript-debate.html?_r=0

HOLT: Mr. Trump, we’re talking about the burden that Americans have to pay, yet you have not released your tax returns. And the reason nominees have released their returns for decades is so that voters will know if their potential president owes money to — who he owes it to and any business conflicts. Don’t Americans have a right to know if there are any conflicts of interest?

TRUMP: I don’t mind releasing — I’m under a routine audit. And it’ll be released. And — as soon as the audit’s finished, it will be released.

But you will learn more about Donald Trump by going down to the federal elections, where I filed a 104-page essentially financial statement of sorts, the forms that they have. It shows income — in fact, the income — I just looked today — the income is filed at $694 million for this past year, $694 million. If you would have told me I was going to make that 15 or 20 years ago, I would have been very surprised.

But that’s the kind of thinking that our country needs. When we have a country that’s doing so badly, that’s being ripped off by every single country in the world, it’s the kind of thinking that our country needs, because everybody — Lester, we have a trade deficit with all of the countries that we do business with, of almost $800 billion a year. You know what that is? That means, who’s negotiating these trade deals?

We have people that are political hacks negotiating our trade deals.

HOLT: The IRS says an audit...

TRUMP: Excuse me.

HOLT: ... of your taxes — you’re perfectly free to release your taxes during an audit. And so the question, does the public’s right to know outweigh your personal...

TRUMP: Well, I told you, I will release them as soon as the audit. Look, I’ve been under audit almost for 15 years. I know a lot of wealthy people that have never been audited. I said, do you get audited? I get audited almost every year.

And in a way, I should be complaining. I’m not even complaining. I don’t mind it. It’s almost become a way of life. I get audited by the IRS. But other people don’t.

I will say this. We have a situation in this country that has to be taken care of. I will release my tax returns — against my lawyer’s wishes — when she releases her 33,000 e-mails that have been deleted. As soon as she releases them, I will release.

(APPLAUSE)

I will release my tax returns. And that’s against — my lawyers, they say, “Don’t do it.” I will tell you this. No — in fact, watching shows, they’re reading the papers. Almost every lawyer says, you don’t release your returns until the audit’s complete. When the audit’s complete, I’ll do it. But I would go against them if she releases her e-mails.

HOLT: So it’s negotiable?

TRUMP: It’s not negotiable, no. Let her release the e-mails. Why did she delete 33,000...
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
It is really nobody's business what Hillary's or Trump's tax returns are.

Well, ............... except for nosy people who go through life jealous of everyone else's success.
 
RetiredUSN said:
It is really nobody's business what Hillary's or Trump's tax returns are.

Well, ............... except for nosy people who go through life jealous of everyone else's success.
Click to expand...
Your liege and mentor has taught you well. Complete avoidance of an inconvenient question followed closely by faux indignation.
 
"Nobody calls Sean Hannity!"

Sry, it makes me smile every time.

Seriously, we should get past this specific Trumpism. Likely it's exactly what Clinton speculated. Trump's got teams of people whose job it is to find every tax loophole they can take advantage of. It wouldn't surprise me if he turns a profit on the IRS each year.

Some see that as shrewd business and some see it as the opposite of patriotism.

If we accept that's what's going on and make our judgments accordingly, we could move on to something more interesting.
 
I don't view a candidate's tax returns as meaningful. I never have, and I've never paid attention to them when they do release them. I don't care. To me all they prove is that the person in question filed a tax return. What they purportedly prove beyond that is highly questionable. Personally, I never deduct charitable contributions. Taking a deduction for something given from the heart seems disingenuous to me - but that's a personally held belief and no reflection on those who do take such deductions. However, were I running for office and my tax return released, people would erroneously conclude that I made no charitable contributions. That would be fodder for political comment, and every word of it would be false.
 
WillyPete said:
"Nobody calls Sean Hannity!"

Sry, it makes me smile every time.

Seriously, we should get past this specific Trumpism. Likely it's exactly what Clinton speculated. Trump's got teams of people whose job it is to find every tax loophole they can take advantage of. It wouldn't surprise me if he turns a profit on the IRS each year.

Some see that as shrewd business and some see it as the opposite of patriotism.

If we accept that's what's going on and make our judgments accordingly, we could move on to something more interesting.
Click to expand...
I see it as shewed business, provided it's legal.

Paying zero taxes is not an indictment of Trump, it's an indictment of our tax system and the lawmakers that put it in place and keep it in place. One of which was Hillary, for a time.


humbolt said:
I don't view a candidate's tax returns as meaningful. I never have, and I've never paid attention to them when they do release them. I don't care. To me all they prove is that the person in question filed a tax return. What they purportedly prove beyond that is highly questionable. Personally, I never deduct charitable contributions. Taking a deduction for something given from the heart seems disingenuous to me - but that's a personally held belief and no reflection on those who do take such deductions. However, were I running for office and my tax return released, people would erroneously conclude that I made no charitable contributions. That would be fodder for political comment, and every word of it would be false.
Click to expand...
I do not view them as meaningful, either. Please note that the thread regards Trump's serial flip-flopping all within a 2-3 minutes period. I don't really give a crap which answer he provided, but he was unable to keep himself consistent or on point in that short a time.
 
1. The demands that we see tax records are part of the complete transparency that we the American people require of a candidate who wants us to make them the most powerful person in the world.
1a. So a candidate should release them as a matter of smart politicking, but not as a matter of moral obligation.

2. Trump, however, has stated that he would release them, and called on others to do so. What places a moral obligation on him to do so are his own words and deeds.
 
radcen said:
I see it as shewed business, provided it's legal.

Paying zero taxes is not an indictment of Trump, it's an indictment of our tax system and the lawmakers that put it in place and keep it in place. One of which was Hillary, for a time.
Click to expand...

Oh, I see it the same way. I just don't view charitable contributions in the legal or business view. The only reason I brought it up is because it has been mentioned as political fodder. It's not necessarily that at all.



I do not view them as meaningful, either. Please note that the thread regards Trump's serial flip-flopping all within a 2-3 minutes period. I don't really give a crap which answer he provided, but he was unable to keep himself consistent or on point in that short a time.
Click to expand...

That may bother some, but given Trump's history of remarks, that doesn't bother me either. He may have changed his mind 3 or 4 times just since the debate. Sadly, I'm very nearly to the point that I prefer Trump's inconsistency to Clinton's consistently rotten policies, ideology, and behavior.
 
radcen said:
Your liege and mentor has taught you well. Complete avoidance of an inconvenient question followed closely by faux indignation.
Click to expand...

It means nothing, other than people throwing out more senseless theories and opinions.
 
Maybe he doesn't have the STAMINA
 
I don't run a large business, so I don't know: is it normal to be audited every year for fifteen straight years? Genuinely curious.
 
Anyway, we're never going to see his tax returns. Donald is that kid we all knew in the second grade who you made a bet with, lost and subsequently found an excuse every single time for ducking out of paying the bet. I made a bet with that kid, he lost, and he said it no longer counted because we made the bet on Monday, and now it was Wednesday. That's Donald Trump.
 
Cardinal said:
I don't run a large business, so I don't know: is it normal to be audited every year for fifteen straight years? Genuinely curious.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's common, but I think it does happen.

I have a friend, self-employed, not rich but does well, claims to get audited pretty much every year. But, he's also the kind of person who aggressively takes every deduction and credit that he thinks he can get away with. He admits to pushing the envelope. That may be the difference. I can see The Donald being the same way.
 
radcen said:
I don't think it's common, but I think it does happen.

I have a friend, self-employed, not rich but does well, claims to get audited pretty much every year. But, he's also the kind of person who aggressively takes every deduction and credit that he thinks he can get away with. He admits to pushing the envelope. That may be the difference. I can see The Donald being the same way.
Click to expand...

I'm totally going out of my realm of expertise here, but that just seems odd to me. You basically get flagged when the numbers aren't added up correctly or when the amount of income looks extremely fishy compared to the deductions. That one would do their taxes that would result in being flagged every single year just sounds goofy.

But I'm not going to die on this particular hill because, as I said, not my realm of expertise.
 
th


I SWEAR - THE IRS IS NOT POLITICAL
 
Cardinal said:
I'm totally going out of my realm of expertise here, but that just seems odd to me. You basically get flagged when the numbers aren't added up correctly or when the amount of income looks extremely fishy compared to the deductions. That one would do their taxes that would result in being flagged every single year just sounds goofy.

But I'm not going to die on this particular hill because, as I said, not my realm of expertise.
Click to expand...
I'm with you, not my area of expertise, but I have read some on the issue. Apparently some deductions are more questionable than others, i.e. home office deduction, etc., and will increase the chance of an audit. I have read speculation that Trump does things like use his charitable foundation money to pay personal and/or business bills, but that's just speculation.
 
The polls indicate over 60% of eligible voters want his returns released.

As this is a job interview, conducted by the voters, who are the employer, a super majority of those employers would like to see your returns to validate your credentials, you are here applying for the job on your buisness experience. Mr Trump, you are not required to provide the returns, but it could affect your position in getting the job.
 
Last edited:
radcen said:
I'm with you, not my area of expertise, but I have read some on the issue. Apparently some deductions are more questionable than others, i.e. home office deduction, etc., and will increase the chance of an audit. I have read speculation that Trump does things like use his charitable foundation money to pay personal and/or business bills, but that's just speculation.
Click to expand...

Well, on the charitable foundation front, that's not speculation, he absolutely used money from the Trump Foundation to pay his legal bills and for a giant portrait of himself.
 
Cardinal said:
Well, on the charitable foundation front, that's not speculation, he absolutely used money from the Trump Foundation to pay his legal bills and for a giant portrait of himself.
Click to expand...
That's the primary example(s) I was thinking of when I wrote that.
 
RetiredUSN said:
It is really nobody's business what Hillary's or Trump's tax returns are.

Well, ............... except for nosy people who go through life jealous of everyone else's success.
Click to expand...


That's an interesting defense.

Candidates usually do release the tax returns. Trump made his wealth an issue. Trump made Hillary's character an issue. Trump made his "being smart" an issue with regard to taxes. He has more than the usual interest in releasing them.

Most importantly, he spent quite a lot of time being Lead Birther (before lying about it once convenient - funny thing, he also criticizes Hillary for lying. I guess that means it's OK if he lies, too).




And you defend him for not.
 
Mr Person said:
That's an interesting defense.

Candidates usually do release the tax returns. Trump made his wealth an issue. Trump made Hillary's character an issue. Trump made his "being smart" an issue with regard to taxes. He has more than the usual interest in releasing them.

Most importantly, he spent quite a lot of time being Lead Birther (before lying about it once convenient - funny thing, he also criticizes Hillary for lying. I guess that means it's OK if he lies, too).




And you defend him for not.
Click to expand...

And maybe..............it's really none of anyone's business what another person files to the IRS.

Maybe......no single person on this forum has any credibility until they post theirs?

Think about it.
 
I love hearing Trump saying that he doesn't pay taxes because he's "smart."

Great message to send to the citizens. Great message from the guy who will be ultimately in charge of the IRS, among other agencies.

But I don't think that the man who rants about our crumbling infrastructure and decaying military but doesn't pay a dime toward fixing them is being prevented from publishing them because of that. I think he'd probably find not paying taxes is something to brag about.

I think there are more insidious things hidden away. Like using his charity as a piggy bank, or owing hundreds of millions to overseas banks or other institutions, or something along those lines.
 
Mr Person said:
Isn't that sort of herring usually red?
Click to expand...

I believe she likely is, yes.
At least to the extent that she believes big government is entitled to use its power to protect itself from speech it doesn't like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom