Donald Trump will not release his tax returns before election in November.
The Republican presidential candidate has not said as much, but all indications point to the political neophyte breaking the bipartisan, decades-long tradition.
After calling for the release of his tax returns while working for rival Ted Cruz during the GOP primary, newly hired Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway has suddenly seen the light and now says her boss shouldn’t be burdened by transparency.
“I’ve learned since being on the inside that this audit is a serious matter and that he has said that when the audit is complete, he will release his tax returns,” she told ABC News over the weekend.
But at least two former IRS commissioners, both appointed by a Republican president, say that an IRS audit is no excuse for Trump not release his tax returns.
“He can release his returns in the morning if he wants to — nothing is stopping him from doing that,” George W. Bush appointed IRS comissioner Mark Everson told NBC News back in March. Trump has said he has “no problem” releasing his returns once the IRS audit is done.
Everson argued, however, that an audit has no bearing on the information filed in the return because the original return reflects a taxpayer’s factual tax status from the time of the filing.
“The returns themselves are the issue — if they’re adjusted through the audit process, fair enough, that doesn’t change what he’s filed,” Everson explained.
Current IRS John Koskinen has also said Trump is able to release his tax returns despite any IRS audit that’s being conducted.
And in a new column for CNBC, George H.W. Bush appointed IRS commissioner Fred Goldberg further pressed Trump to release his tax returns, or at least more information than the mandatory (and meager) financial disclosure he’s already filed.
