There has been much debate over the last few years on whether to make Donald Trump’s tax returns public. The US House of Representatives has voted to make Trump’s Taxes public. By law, US presidents do not have to release their tax returns. However, for many years those in office have done so on their own accord. The former president, Trump, has for many years refused to make his tax returns public. This made him the first president in almost 50 years not to make details on his taxes public.
Donald Trump’s Tax Returns – Why The Fuss?
So why are Donald Trump’s Tax Returns such big news? When he was the presidential candidate in 2016 Trump refused to make his taxes public. This was not the norm, with all presidents and candidates usually making their taxes public. Trump later claimed he was smart during a presidential debate to do so. He went on to say he paid no federal taxes. Furthermore, some of the tax cuts he made as president benefited him personally. You could say there was a conflict of interest.
Added to this, the New York Times has previously released parts of Trump’s tax returns to the public. These snippets show how Trump had reported big losses in his businesses. These businesses include his role as a reality TV star and real estate investment. The NYT also implied Trump had been involved in some unfruitful tax dodging. This included receiving over $400 million of his father’s estate. Trump would go on to sue the NYT and also his niece for releasing the information.
There have been huge political rows and debates in the United States, about whether Trump’s tax returns should be released. Many claim all presidents should release their tax records, which is backed by decades of former presidents doing so. The majority feel Trump has got a lot to hide. In fact, the Trump Organisation has recently been convicted of fraud charges on some of its tax affairs.
Fake News?
The former president still maintains it is illegal to release somebody else’s tax affairs. He claims reports income from foreign operations and his high debt levels are fake news. As are, claims he paid no income tax in over 10 years, and only paid $750 in federal taxes.
Republicans claim releasing Trump’s tax returns would set a dangerous precedent.
Trump’s Hatrick Of Losses
This is the third time this year that the former president has been on the losing side at the Supreme Court. It follows the Court’s refusal to stop the National Archives from releasing documents to the House Committee regarding the US Capital Attack in 2021. Furthermore in October, the Court refused to get involved in the FBI search of his Estates.
2023 could be an interesting year for the former president.
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