In his speech Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, vice presidential candidate and everyone's favorite dad Tim Kaine repeatedly dinged Republican nominee Donald Trump for his reliance on the phrase "believe me," when, in fact, he argued, absolutely no one should believe him. "It's gonna be great – believe me!" Kaine said to the convention crowd, imitating Trump to laughs and cheers. "We're gonna build a wall and make Mexico pay for it – believe me! There's nothing suspicious in my tax returns – believe me!"
That last one evoked the loudest whoops and applause by far. Kaine stayed with it: "By the way, does anyone here believe that Donald Trump's been paying his fair share of taxes? Do you believe he ought to release those tax returns like every other presidential candidate in modern history? Of course he should. Donald, what are you hiding?"
It's a fair question. Since the 1970s, presidential candidates have routinely released their tax returns. "This is something that was partly a reaction to Watergate and Richard Nixon, and the growing sense that we want transparency, that we want to know if our presidents are playing by the same rules as other Americans," says Matt Dallek, assistant professor of Political Management in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University...
But Trump isn't releasing his tax returns, at least not now and likely not before the election. His campaign manager Paul Manafort said as much Wednesday, telling CBS News, "Mr. Trump has said that his taxes are under audit and he will not be releasing them." What's more, his account of the audit itself only raises more questions. Trump claims to have been audited every year for the past 12 years, which according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, would be "rare."
So why hold back? Why not throw everyone's supposed lies in their faces and get a likely boost in the polls, too? Because Trump, despite his insistence to the contrary, has likely made the calculation that he wouldn't win if the American public was to see his tax returns. His decision, then, appears to be based less on principle and reason, as he advertises, than fear of losing. And Trump is no loser. Believe me.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-07-29/why-wont-donald-trump-release-his-tax-returns
That last one evoked the loudest whoops and applause by far. Kaine stayed with it: "By the way, does anyone here believe that Donald Trump's been paying his fair share of taxes? Do you believe he ought to release those tax returns like every other presidential candidate in modern history? Of course he should. Donald, what are you hiding?"
It's a fair question. Since the 1970s, presidential candidates have routinely released their tax returns. "This is something that was partly a reaction to Watergate and Richard Nixon, and the growing sense that we want transparency, that we want to know if our presidents are playing by the same rules as other Americans," says Matt Dallek, assistant professor of Political Management in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University...
But Trump isn't releasing his tax returns, at least not now and likely not before the election. His campaign manager Paul Manafort said as much Wednesday, telling CBS News, "Mr. Trump has said that his taxes are under audit and he will not be releasing them." What's more, his account of the audit itself only raises more questions. Trump claims to have been audited every year for the past 12 years, which according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, would be "rare."
So why hold back? Why not throw everyone's supposed lies in their faces and get a likely boost in the polls, too? Because Trump, despite his insistence to the contrary, has likely made the calculation that he wouldn't win if the American public was to see his tax returns. His decision, then, appears to be based less on principle and reason, as he advertises, than fear of losing. And Trump is no loser. Believe me.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-07-29/why-wont-donald-trump-release-his-tax-returns
