Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Donald Trump pledged to release his tax returns… just not right now. Why? “I will absolutely give my return, but I’m being audited now for two or three years, so I can’t do it until the audit is finished, obviously,”Trump said on CNN. Trump also said he can’t release previous years because they are all intertwined together for the audit. For the last 24 hours, pundits have been criticizing Trump for this. They point to a statement by the IRS which said “nothing prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information” during an audit. That’s true. However, Trump would be very, very stupid (legally) to release them in the middle of an audit, at least according to nearly all (except one) of the high profile tax attorneys and accountants around the country we contacted for this story. We posed two questions to them:
1) Would you also advise your client NOT to release their returns until after the audit?
2) Do Trump’s statements (above) seem like a plausible explanation to you?
Here are their responses:
Robert Barnes, a Los Angeles-based attorney:
“I see some of my colleagues would tell their clients to release their tax returns to the public during an audit. Ask them to name a single client they actually gave that advice to. I think that would be legal malpractice, and would recommend their clients sue them if they gave that advice. I advise my clients (hundreds over the years who actually experience an IRS inquiry) to NEVER release their tax returns while an audit is going on. I am certain Mr. Trump’s lawyers, very capable and well-respected in this field, have advised him not to disclose his tax returns during the audit. There are many reasons for this.
First of all, and most importantly, the IRS is not allowed to show your client’s tax returns to anyone else. Such returns are protected by the privacy laws of section 6103 of Title 26 of the Code. The only way they could do so if your client had a lawyer dumb enough to let you disclose those records publicly. The IRS could then misuse this otherwise private information to make the audit process more difficult at many levels, and could cause problems for other entirely innocent businesses you do business with.
Second, releasing the returns during an audit could cause anyone who has a grievance with you to misuse the released information, and try to intervene in the audit process, for their own personal, financial or political gain. I have been through this several times in other contexts where such records were obtained by people with an interest adverse to my client, which unnecessarily protracted the process as undue expense and harassment of my client. Third, tax returns usually reveal business strategies that may need revision during the audit process, for which untimely disclosure could unduly hinder and harm, with third parties often the victim as much as the client.”
Robert Kovacev, a Washington D.C. based attorney:
“I would absolutely advise a client not to release returns under audit to the public. Critics could pull certain items on the returns out of context and there would be political pressure on the IRS to scrutinize those items even if they ordinarily wouldn’t be controversial.
Lots of transactions span several tax years so he is also right that one years return may be intertwined with another.”
Robert Mckenzie, a Chicago-based attorney:
“I would advise my client that there could be huge risks in releasing complex returns during an audit. Instead of having just an IRS agent review the return it now would be reviewed by thousands of tax experts. The first step his opponents would take would be to assign the best tax accountants and tax lawyers on his team to analyze the returns. In addition, reporters would seek out tax experts to review the returns. (I reviewed Mitt Romney’s, Dennis Santorum’s and Newt Gingrich’s returns last cycle at the request on a national publication.) All the comments would lead the agent to more and more issues. On the other hand the political damage of a failure to release may out weigh the risk of a larger tax deficiency.”
Aaron Nocjar, Washington D.C. based attorney:
“To answer your question, yes, this could be a plausible explanation. In an audit of a particular tax year, prior tax years can be called into question as well. Sometimes tax-related statutes of limitations will prevent such an inquiry (but not always). I imagine that Donald Trump is well advised from a tax perspective, particularly since his business roots are in real estate development.”
Lester Weingarten, New York City-based Accountant:
“If his return is under audit, I would advise not to release it to the public as there could be an embarrassing upward adjustment or they could “bless” the return by not making any changes which would be an affirmation of the accuracy of the return (or they could make a highly unlikely downward adjustment). Either way, it would not be beneficial to release the return until all was settled. If the return was not under audit, then it is up to him what he wanted to do, but given it is under examination, it would be prudent to wait until the examination has been concluded.
As far as releasing prior years taxes, each year stands on its own. However there could be carry forwards of certain items to the most recent year filed (i.e. 2014). Generally these items would include but are not limited to capital loss carry forwards; net operating loss carry forwards; Investment interest expense carry forwards, passive loss carry forwards, foreign tax credit carry forwards. Given Mr. Trump’s wealth, the most likely carry forwards would be passive loss carry forwards on partnership investments that throw off losses that cannot be used currently as they are deemed passive activities. However we are getting too technical.
As Mr. Trump stated, he has been audited year after year, presumably the audits on prior years have been concluded, therefore those returns, if he so chose, could be released and as stated above, if there was an upward adjustment, an embarrassment, if there was a “no change”, an affirmation. He might have a few years where the audit has not been concluded, so as above, I would recommend they not be released. ”
Trump can release his returns if he chooses. I'll bet the ranch nobody outside IRS will ever EVER see a Trump tax return.I think some of you owe president Trump an apology.
Trump is Right, Experts Say It Would Be Very Stupid to Release His Taxes During an Audit
Donald Trump pledged to release his tax returns… just not right now. Why? “I will absolutely give my return, but I’m being audited now for two or three years, so I can’t do it until the audit is finished, obviously,”Trump said on CNN. Trump also said he can’t release previous years because they are all intertwined together for the audit. For the last 24 hours, pundits have been criticizing Trump for this. They point to a statement by the IRS which said “nothing prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information” during an audit. That’s true. However, Trump would be very, very stupid (legally) to release them in the middle of an audit, at least according to nearly all (except one) of the high profile tax attorneys and accountants around the country we contacted for this story. We posed two questions to them:
1) Would you also advise your client NOT to release their returns until after the audit?
2) Do Trump’s statements (above) seem like a plausible explanation to you?
Here are their responses:
Robert Barnes, a Los Angeles-based attorney:
“I see some of my colleagues would tell their clients to release their tax returns to the public during an audit. Ask them to name a single client they actually gave that advice to. I think that would be legal malpractice, and would recommend their clients sue them if they gave that advice. I advise my clients (hundreds over the years who actually experience an IRS inquiry) to NEVER release their tax returns while an audit is going on. I am certain Mr. Trump’s lawyers, very capable and well-respected in this field, have advised him not to disclose his tax returns during the audit. There are many reasons for this.
First of all, and most importantly, the IRS is not allowed to show your client’s tax returns to anyone else. Such returns are protected by the privacy laws of section 6103 of Title 26 of the Code. The only way they could do so if your client had a lawyer dumb enough to let you disclose those records publicly. The IRS could then misuse this otherwise private information to make the audit process more difficult at many levels, and could cause problems for other entirely innocent businesses you do business with.
Second, releasing the returns during an audit could cause anyone who has a grievance with you to misuse the released information, and try to intervene in the audit process, for their own personal, financial or political gain. I have been through this several times in other contexts where such records were obtained by people with an interest adverse to my client, which unnecessarily protracted the process as undue expense and harassment of my client. Third, tax returns usually reveal business strategies that may need revision during the audit process, for which untimely disclosure could unduly hinder and harm, with third parties often the victim as much as the client.”
Robert Kovacev, a Washington D.C. based attorney:
“I would absolutely advise a client not to release returns under audit to the public. Critics could pull certain items on the returns out of context and there would be political pressure on the IRS to scrutinize those items even if they ordinarily wouldn’t be controversial.
Lots of transactions span several tax years so he is also right that one years return may be intertwined with another.”
Robert Mckenzie, a Chicago-based attorney:
“I would advise my client that there could be huge risks in releasing complex returns during an audit. Instead of having just an IRS agent review the return it now would be reviewed by thousands of tax experts. The first step his opponents would take would be to assign the best tax accountants and tax lawyers on his team to analyze the returns. In addition, reporters would seek out tax experts to review the returns. (I reviewed Mitt Romney’s, Dennis Santorum’s and Newt Gingrich’s returns last cycle at the request on a national publication.) All the comments would lead the agent to more and more issues. On the other hand the political damage of a failure to release may out weigh the risk of a larger tax deficiency.”
Aaron Nocjar, Washington D.C. based attorney:
“To answer your question, yes, this could be a plausible explanation. In an audit of a particular tax year, prior tax years can be called into question as well. Sometimes tax-related statutes of limitations will prevent such an inquiry (but not always). I imagine that Donald Trump is well advised from a tax perspective, particularly since his business roots are in real estate development.”
Lester Weingarten, New York City-based Accountant:
“If his return is under audit, I would advise not to release it to the public as there could be an embarrassing upward adjustment or they could “bless” the return by not making any changes which would be an affirmation of the accuracy of the return (or they could make a highly unlikely downward adjustment). Either way, it would not be beneficial to release the return until all was settled. If the return was not under audit, then it is up to him what he wanted to do, but given it is under examination, it would be prudent to wait until the examination has been concluded.
As far as releasing prior years taxes, each year stands on its own. However there could be carry forwards of certain items to the most recent year filed (i.e. 2014). Generally these items would include but are not limited to capital loss carry forwards; net operating loss carry forwards; Investment interest expense carry forwards, passive loss carry forwards, foreign tax credit carry forwards. Given Mr. Trump’s wealth, the most likely carry forwards would be passive loss carry forwards on partnership investments that throw off losses that cannot be used currently as they are deemed passive activities. However we are getting too technical.
As Mr. Trump stated, he has been audited year after year, presumably the audits on prior years have been concluded, therefore those returns, if he so chose, could be released and as stated above, if there was an upward adjustment, an embarrassment, if there was a “no change”, an affirmation. He might have a few years where the audit has not been concluded, so as above, I would recommend they not be released. ”
Trump can release his returns if he chooses.
Liberals spend so much time bullshitting they think everyone will buy it. Maybe they can shave a few votes off with this little stunt.I think some of you owe president Trump an apology.
Trump is Right, Experts Say It Would Be Very Stupid to Release His Taxes During an Audit
Donald Trump pledged to release his tax returns… just not right now. Why? “I will absolutely give my return, but I’m being audited now for two or three years, so I can’t do it until the audit is finished, obviously,”Trump said on CNN. Trump also said he can’t release previous years because they are all intertwined together for the audit. For the last 24 hours, pundits have been criticizing Trump for this. They point to a statement by the IRS which said “nothing prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information” during an audit. That’s true. However, Trump would be very, very stupid (legally) to release them in the middle of an audit, at least according to nearly all (except one) of the high profile tax attorneys and accountants around the country we contacted for this story. We posed two questions to them:
1) Would you also advise your client NOT to release their returns until after the audit?
2) Do Trump’s statements (above) seem like a plausible explanation to you?
Here are their responses:
Robert Barnes, a Los Angeles-based attorney:
“I see some of my colleagues would tell their clients to release their tax returns to the public during an audit. Ask them to name a single client they actually gave that advice to. I think that would be legal malpractice, and would recommend their clients sue them if they gave that advice. I advise my clients (hundreds over the years who actually experience an IRS inquiry) to NEVER release their tax returns while an audit is going on. I am certain Mr. Trump’s lawyers, very capable and well-respected in this field, have advised him not to disclose his tax returns during the audit. There are many reasons for this.
First of all, and most importantly, the IRS is not allowed to show your client’s tax returns to anyone else. Such returns are protected by the privacy laws of section 6103 of Title 26 of the Code. The only way they could do so if your client had a lawyer dumb enough to let you disclose those records publicly. The IRS could then misuse this otherwise private information to make the audit process more difficult at many levels, and could cause problems for other entirely innocent businesses you do business with.
Second, releasing the returns during an audit could cause anyone who has a grievance with you to misuse the released information, and try to intervene in the audit process, for their own personal, financial or political gain. I have been through this several times in other contexts where such records were obtained by people with an interest adverse to my client, which unnecessarily protracted the process as undue expense and harassment of my client. Third, tax returns usually reveal business strategies that may need revision during the audit process, for which untimely disclosure could unduly hinder and harm, with third parties often the victim as much as the client.”
Robert Kovacev, a Washington D.C. based attorney:
“I would absolutely advise a client not to release returns under audit to the public. Critics could pull certain items on the returns out of context and there would be political pressure on the IRS to scrutinize those items even if they ordinarily wouldn’t be controversial.
Lots of transactions span several tax years so he is also right that one years return may be intertwined with another.”
Robert Mckenzie, a Chicago-based attorney:
“I would advise my client that there could be huge risks in releasing complex returns during an audit. Instead of having just an IRS agent review the return it now would be reviewed by thousands of tax experts. The first step his opponents would take would be to assign the best tax accountants and tax lawyers on his team to analyze the returns. In addition, reporters would seek out tax experts to review the returns. (I reviewed Mitt Romney’s, Dennis Santorum’s and Newt Gingrich’s returns last cycle at the request on a national publication.) All the comments would lead the agent to more and more issues. On the other hand the political damage of a failure to release may out weigh the risk of a larger tax deficiency.”
Aaron Nocjar, Washington D.C. based attorney:
“To answer your question, yes, this could be a plausible explanation. In an audit of a particular tax year, prior tax years can be called into question as well. Sometimes tax-related statutes of limitations will prevent such an inquiry (but not always). I imagine that Donald Trump is well advised from a tax perspective, particularly since his business roots are in real estate development.”
Lester Weingarten, New York City-based Accountant:
“If his return is under audit, I would advise not to release it to the public as there could be an embarrassing upward adjustment or they could “bless” the return by not making any changes which would be an affirmation of the accuracy of the return (or they could make a highly unlikely downward adjustment). Either way, it would not be beneficial to release the return until all was settled. If the return was not under audit, then it is up to him what he wanted to do, but given it is under examination, it would be prudent to wait until the examination has been concluded.
As far as releasing prior years taxes, each year stands on its own. However there could be carry forwards of certain items to the most recent year filed (i.e. 2014). Generally these items would include but are not limited to capital loss carry forwards; net operating loss carry forwards; Investment interest expense carry forwards, passive loss carry forwards, foreign tax credit carry forwards. Given Mr. Trump’s wealth, the most likely carry forwards would be passive loss carry forwards on partnership investments that throw off losses that cannot be used currently as they are deemed passive activities. However we are getting too technical.
As Mr. Trump stated, he has been audited year after year, presumably the audits on prior years have been concluded, therefore those returns, if he so chose, could be released and as stated above, if there was an upward adjustment, an embarrassment, if there was a “no change”, an affirmation. He might have a few years where the audit has not been concluded, so as above, I would recommend they not be released. ”
did you guys catch ben carson the other night saying he had never been audited until he spoke at that prayer breakfast ??
that's just normal fare now. not a smidgen of corruption, obama said so.
He's released a 100+page financial disclosure form with FEC.
Anything that "the people" need to know is there.
This is yet another non-issue that is already dead.
The Trumpnado will not be stopped.
Trump can release his returns if he chooses. I'll bet the ranch nobody outside IRS will ever EVER see a Trump tax return.I think some of you owe president Trump an apology.
Trump is Right, Experts Say It Would Be Very Stupid to Release His Taxes During an Audit
Donald Trump pledged to release his tax returns… just not right now. Why? “I will absolutely give my return, but I’m being audited now for two or three years, so I can’t do it until the audit is finished, obviously,”Trump said on CNN. Trump also said he can’t release previous years because they are all intertwined together for the audit. For the last 24 hours, pundits have been criticizing Trump for this. They point to a statement by the IRS which said “nothing prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information” during an audit. That’s true. However, Trump would be very, very stupid (legally) to release them in the middle of an audit, at least according to nearly all (except one) of the high profile tax attorneys and accountants around the country we contacted for this story. We posed two questions to them:
1) Would you also advise your client NOT to release their returns until after the audit?
2) Do Trump’s statements (above) seem like a plausible explanation to you?
Here are their responses:
Robert Barnes, a Los Angeles-based attorney:
“I see some of my colleagues would tell their clients to release their tax returns to the public during an audit. Ask them to name a single client they actually gave that advice to. I think that would be legal malpractice, and would recommend their clients sue them if they gave that advice. I advise my clients (hundreds over the years who actually experience an IRS inquiry) to NEVER release their tax returns while an audit is going on. I am certain Mr. Trump’s lawyers, very capable and well-respected in this field, have advised him not to disclose his tax returns during the audit. There are many reasons for this.
First of all, and most importantly, the IRS is not allowed to show your client’s tax returns to anyone else. Such returns are protected by the privacy laws of section 6103 of Title 26 of the Code. The only way they could do so if your client had a lawyer dumb enough to let you disclose those records publicly. The IRS could then misuse this otherwise private information to make the audit process more difficult at many levels, and could cause problems for other entirely innocent businesses you do business with.
Second, releasing the returns during an audit could cause anyone who has a grievance with you to misuse the released information, and try to intervene in the audit process, for their own personal, financial or political gain. I have been through this several times in other contexts where such records were obtained by people with an interest adverse to my client, which unnecessarily protracted the process as undue expense and harassment of my client. Third, tax returns usually reveal business strategies that may need revision during the audit process, for which untimely disclosure could unduly hinder and harm, with third parties often the victim as much as the client.”
Robert Kovacev, a Washington D.C. based attorney:
“I would absolutely advise a client not to release returns under audit to the public. Critics could pull certain items on the returns out of context and there would be political pressure on the IRS to scrutinize those items even if they ordinarily wouldn’t be controversial.
Lots of transactions span several tax years so he is also right that one years return may be intertwined with another.”
Robert Mckenzie, a Chicago-based attorney:
“I would advise my client that there could be huge risks in releasing complex returns during an audit. Instead of having just an IRS agent review the return it now would be reviewed by thousands of tax experts. The first step his opponents would take would be to assign the best tax accountants and tax lawyers on his team to analyze the returns. In addition, reporters would seek out tax experts to review the returns. (I reviewed Mitt Romney’s, Dennis Santorum’s and Newt Gingrich’s returns last cycle at the request on a national publication.) All the comments would lead the agent to more and more issues. On the other hand the political damage of a failure to release may out weigh the risk of a larger tax deficiency.”
Aaron Nocjar, Washington D.C. based attorney:
“To answer your question, yes, this could be a plausible explanation. In an audit of a particular tax year, prior tax years can be called into question as well. Sometimes tax-related statutes of limitations will prevent such an inquiry (but not always). I imagine that Donald Trump is well advised from a tax perspective, particularly since his business roots are in real estate development.”
Lester Weingarten, New York City-based Accountant:
“If his return is under audit, I would advise not to release it to the public as there could be an embarrassing upward adjustment or they could “bless” the return by not making any changes which would be an affirmation of the accuracy of the return (or they could make a highly unlikely downward adjustment). Either way, it would not be beneficial to release the return until all was settled. If the return was not under audit, then it is up to him what he wanted to do, but given it is under examination, it would be prudent to wait until the examination has been concluded.
As far as releasing prior years taxes, each year stands on its own. However there could be carry forwards of certain items to the most recent year filed (i.e. 2014). Generally these items would include but are not limited to capital loss carry forwards; net operating loss carry forwards; Investment interest expense carry forwards, passive loss carry forwards, foreign tax credit carry forwards. Given Mr. Trump’s wealth, the most likely carry forwards would be passive loss carry forwards on partnership investments that throw off losses that cannot be used currently as they are deemed passive activities. However we are getting too technical.
As Mr. Trump stated, he has been audited year after year, presumably the audits on prior years have been concluded, therefore those returns, if he so chose, could be released and as stated above, if there was an upward adjustment, an embarrassment, if there was a “no change”, an affirmation. He might have a few years where the audit has not been concluded, so as above, I would recommend they not be released. ”
It says clearly that anyone who tries to force Trump to release his returns is probably trying to misuse them for their own gain. I'm sure Romney knows this, unless he's a total idiot or his lawyers are a bunch of hucksters. His returns are protected by the privacy laws of section 6103 of Title 26 of the Code.He's released a 100+page financial disclosure form with FEC.
Anything that "the people" need to know is there.
This is yet another non-issue that is already dead.
The Trumpnado will not be stopped.
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume that he is under audit for this year.
He can release past years.
Trump said he has been audited for each of the past 12 years. The only reason why he couldn't release past years is because he is still being audited for his taxes from many years ago.
So does this mean that he is still being audited for taxes from 6, 7, 8 years ago?
That is extremely unlikely.
So he should release his past years.
Trump is going to change the law, so if you disagree with him, and you publish that, he can sue you. The second time, off to Gitmo for waterboarding.
Anyone who's been under audit would tell you that doing so would be stupid as hell. You never know what the IRS is going to ask for. Releasing it would be silly as shit. Especially if the information could be used by somebody who's trying to destroy your reputation or the reputation of anyone you've done business with. While you're under audit, your information is protected. The moment you release it on your own, the IRS could give it to 3rd parties who could use it as fodder for a nasty political campaign. They could carry out vendettas against donors, like several who gave to Romney. Some people don't like the public to know who they've donated to. Shit.......Al Fucking Sharpton could end up on your doorstep accusing you of racism just for donating to Donald Trump.Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume that he is under audit for this year.
He can release past years.
Trump said he has been audited for each of the past 12 years. The only reason why he couldn't release past years is because he is still being audited for his taxes from many years ago.
So does this mean that he is still being audited for taxes from 6, 7, 8 years ago?
That is extremely unlikely.
So he should release his past years.
Do you think the guy who insisted on a birth certificate, then denied its validity when he saw it, would that person incriminate himself if he revealed his tax reports? Is Trump the only candidate asked for tax returns?You are probably right. You know, kind of like having the right not to incriminate yourself....
Hillary won't even release any of her speeches.Do you think the guy who insisted on a birth certificate, then denied its validity when he saw it, would that person incriminate himself if he revealed his tax reports? Is Trump the only candidate asked for tax returns?You are probably right. You know, kind of like having the right not to incriminate yourself....
