The 5 Worst Things Donald Trump Could Actually Be Hiding in His Tax Returns

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Publish Date:
August 23, 2016
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Source:
The Street
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Summary

Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns this election cycle, despite pushes from both sides of the aisle. He claims an audit by the IRS is preventing him from keeping with a protocol followed by major presidential nominees since the 1970s. But that’s not really true: No law prevents Trump from releasing his returns during an audit, and the IRS has already completed audits of his returns from 2002 through 2008.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email the only reason Trump is not releasing his returns is he is undergoing a “routine audit” and that he plans to release them with the audit is complete. She did respond to a follow up question on the already-audited returns from 2002 to 2008.

“I think the biggest likelihood is that the returns show him with relatively little income, and paying little in tax. This might be a result of him losing money in some years, and taking advantage of tax breaks on real estate investment,” said Joe Bankman, professor of tax law at Stanford University. “He couldn’t argue that he is a lot richer than he appears on the tax return without calling attention to the fact he pays tax at a lower rate than, say, a high school principal.”

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