Every major presidential candidate in the past 40 years has disclosed their tax returns. But Donald Trump is hiding his.

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Petition: Donald Trump must publicly release his tax returns

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    Petition to Donald Trump:
    “Americans have a right to transparency from their political leaders, and every major presidential candidate in the past 40 years has followed the tradition of publicly releasing their tax returns. Please immediately release multiple years of your tax returns to the voting public.”

    At the first presidential debate, Donald Trump was pushed repeatedly by the moderator on his refusal to release his tax returns – something every other major presidential candidate in the past 40 years has done.

    Not only wouldn’t Donald Trump commit to release his tax returns, he replied to a charge that he's paid $0 in federal income tax some years by saying "That makes me smart"!1 It’s clear his tax returns could contain a bombshell.

    Sign the petition: Demand that Donald Trump release his tax returns to the public.

    Donald Trump’s favorite excuse for not releasing his tax returns, that he is under audit, has been widely debunked as bogus, including by the IRS.2

    Anyone can publicly release their tax returns, even if they’re under audit. And nothing prevents Donald Trump from releasing his tax returns prior to 2009, which are no longer under audit.3

    So that leaves experts to speculate what is so damaging inside Donald Trump’s tax returns that he would refuse to release them.

    Is Donald Trump much less wealthy than he boasts? Less charitable than he claims? Financially tied to powerful interests in Russia and other foreign nations?

    Or, has he been using tax loopholes to avoid paying his fair share in taxes? The Washington Post has found at least 5 years in the past where court documents and other records show Trump has paid zero or close to zero in federal income tax.4 Has his tax dodging continued?

    Trump has stated “I think people don't care” about tax returns.  It’s up to us to prove him wrong.

    Sign and share the petition: Demand that Donald Trump immediately release multiple years of his tax returns to the public.

    The question of whether voters have a right to see candidates’ tax returns is bigger than 2016’s presidential election.

    It’s a vital norm that allows Americans to see that their leaders are really who they claim to be. Setting a precedent of hiding tax returns will only further reduce Americans’ confidence in their government.

    Maybe that's why leaders from across the Republican Party are urging Trump to finally release his tax returns.

    2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said it’s “disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters.”

    Even enemy-of-transparency Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said Trump should release his returns.

    Add your name: Tell Donald Trump it’s long past time to stop hiding and release multiple years of his tax returns to the public.




    Sources:
    1. Wall Street Journal, “Donald Trump on Not Paying Taxes: ‘That Makes Me Smart,’” Sept. 26, 2016.
    2. USA Today, “IRS: Trump can release tax returns, regardless of audit,” Feb. 26, 2016.
    3. Letter to Donald J. Trump from his tax counsel, Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, LLP, March 7, 2016.
    4. Washington Post, “All the excuses Trump has given for why he won’t release his tax returns,” Sept. 15, 2016.