Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Imagest is not a big mystery why Donald Trump refused to release his tax returns. Just listen to what people close to the real estate developer have said over the years. “I think the reason that he doesn’t show his tax returns is it’s like three feet tall—and if you let that go, they would scrutinize everything about it,” said Phil Ruffin, the former president’s friend, fellow billionaire and Las Vegas business partner, in a 2017 interview with.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former attorney, gave a similar explanation when asked about Trump’s returns during a 2019 congressional hearing. “The statements that he had said to me is that what he didn’t want was to have an entire group of think tanks that are tax experts run through his tax return and start ripping it to pieces, and then he’ll end up in an audit and he’ll ultimately have taxable consequences, penalties, and so on.
Trump had good reason to be concerned. The former president’s tax information had never been public until Friday—and some of it still remains shielded after the House Ways and Means Committee released years of paperwork. Yet practically every fragment of tax documentation to emerge over the years has led to consequences for Trump. The latest release could be the most damaging of all.
The first group to get its hands on the information was, of course, the Internal Revenue Service. The federal tax authority has audited Trump’s tax returns many times over the years. A congressional report released last week showed what limited resources the IRS invested into some of those reviews. But even its basic examinations identified issues. For instance, beginning in 2010, Trumpclaimed a $72.
Then journalists got their hands on some information. During Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, his personal tax returns remained hidden. But the returns of his private foundation were a matter of public record. The
Why Trump only Show us the tax returns of Biden, Pelosi, and all ur Senators and Congressmen!!!!