Please Advise Donald Trump On This Tax Matter – We Want Your Comments

CALLING ALL TAX EXPERTS TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION!

IF MR. TRUMP WERE YOUR CLIENT…WOULD YOU ADVISE MR. TRUMP TO RELEASE HIS TAX RETURNS PUBLICLY WHILE HE IS UNDER AUDIT?

Dear Mr. Trump,

As the CEO of www.taxconnections.com I want to ask tax professionals of every political affiliation how they would
advise you… if you were their client. The media is giving you a tough time for not releasing your tax returns! Like many others, I do not trust the media to give us all the facts. TaxConnections members consist of many of the finest tax experts in the United States and their opinion is what I would pay attention to on the matter.

Therefore, I am asking all tax experts to set aside their political affiliation to provide us with their best professional advice and comments on the following question.

“If Mr. Trump were your client, would you advise him to release his tax returns publically while he is under audit?”

Click To Comment

 

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54 comments on “Please Advise Donald Trump On This Tax Matter – We Want Your Comments

  • Not sure about publically, but I see no risk in disclosing them publicly. The IRS already has them.

    • Not a response to Alan, just that this is the fastest way to get into this::::

      Of course, in the real world nobody releases tax returns.
      In the political arena, IF either law, rule, or pattern determines that one does release a return, THEN:

      Release the return. If actively under audit, so what, it still was the return as filed. When concluded, then offer up the audit changes, because they “amended” the return as filed.

      Lots of misstatements in the public jabbering: no realization of the general statute of limitations, the concept of waiving same, the length of time that an audit might drag on, etc.

      I would not be surprised that at least one candidate has many years open in audit, and of course, the last two years probably have not been touched by the IRS.

      I see at least one person talking about media getting returns that are more than 5 years old via a FOI request. NO WAY! Returns are confidential forever. I thought this comments board was open to clients and professional contacts of TaxConnections.

      If Trump has been audited for 12 consecutive years, it’s because there have been changes or unresolved challenges for many of them on certain issues. I”m sure that he has high-powered tax advisors and there are “aggressive positions” taken.

  • If that is a requirement to continue as a political candidate, then, the fact that he is under audit does not keep him from being able to release his tax return so yes I would advise him to release his tax returns. The real question to ask is what were the results of all of his prior audits since he says the IRS has been auditing him every year. Did they propose significant changes or was there no change?

  • John M Palladino

    The IRS has Mr. Trump returns, if you provide them to the public, the public has no more information than the IRS and thus disclosure to the public would not jeopardize the ongoing audit in any manner. It should be noted however that Mr. Trump has made full financial disclosures of a balance sheet, according to his statements. This disclosure is much more disclosure than that of the tax returns to be disclosed.

  • Generally, I’d say no. To the extent that the press gets its hands on these returns and pours through them, it’s possible that something could get questioned by a third party that poses additional risk to the taxpayer. Why give someone else a chance to think through issues for the IRS?
    With this said, I believe that all of the candidates generally provide tax returns for years that are still potentially subject to audit. So, that risk exists as a practical matter for all candidates. My tax advice would be that none of them should disclose their tax returns to third parties needlessly. It seems clear that the reasons for doing so are not necessarily driven by tax concerns.

  • I disagree. My duty is to my client in tax matters.
    reasons:
    1. I do not trust the media
    2. Tax returns are personal and not to be shared
    3. The potential fallout from totally legal transactions could be debilitating.
    4. Anything can be misconstrued.
    5. Why take a risk with no conceivable reward?
    6. This subject will pass in a few days, why give it life?

  • “If Mr. Trump were your client, would you advise him to release his tax returns publically while he is under audit?”
    I admire Trump as a business man, but hate him as a presidential candidate.
    Nonetheless; if Trump where my client I would absolutely advise him to *NOT* release his tax returns publicly while involved in an active audit.

  • Absolutely not. If they’re released publicly while under audit, the public might begin asking questions about specific items not necessarily being audited. But the questions could, theoretically, get the auditor(s) interested in areas that they did not originally intend to audit.

  • I would advice Mr. Trump not to disclose his tax return publicly as this may have an impact in his tax audit. The IRS tax auditor may be influenced by the opinions of others who may review Mr. Trump tax returns if they become available to the public. Rest asure that the media will immediately put an eye on it and will make their own judgement and debates on Mr. Trump’s tax return and this may have an impact in the decisions of the IRS auditor. However, I would advice Mr. Trump to publish his tax return after the audit has finished.

  • NO – disclosure of his tax returns is just because people are too nosey. Has nothing to do with how he will run the United States.

  • I would treat Mr Trump with the care and due diligence that any defense attorney would treat his client. I would certainly not advise him to unnecessarily take any action that would harm himself.

  • I feel Mr Trump should not reveal his tax returns right now. If he becomes the Republican nominee for President, then release them with disclaimer stating that they are being audited and the figures may change.

  • I don’t see any reason for the general public to know anything about Mr. Trump’s or any other person’s tax return information. That issue should be between him, his accountant, and the IRS.

  • Franklin Pacheco

    The IRS will not disclose any information whether or not under audit and unless he has something to hide, he should and must disclose.

  • Charles Schreiber

    I would not advise the client to release the full returns. Given he is under audit and in a political arena, the release of the full return will allow a multitude of professionals to comment on the return resulting in issues being brought to light that may not have been considered as part of the ongoing audit.

    However, to release summarized data, such as AGI, Taxable Income, Tax paid and total charitable contributions would provide most lay voters with the information to make an informed decision without adversely affecting the client in the audit process.

  • Mike Hydell, MT, CPA

    If he were my client, I would not have him release his tax returns until and unless he has to. The media will dissect them and show them in the most unfavorable light. You don’t want the court of public opinion influencing the IRS and its auditors.

  • Absolutely disclose his returns. Whether he is under audit should have no bearing on the matter. If he does not disclose them, it looks like he is hiding something. If he became president, he would have to disclose them anyway.

  • Absolutely not for many of the Ramon’s already mentioned. Also because his personal return would shed no light on the things the media says they want to know. He, like his political predecessors, have so much of their income wrapped up in businesses and trusts that the “final” numbers on the actual 1040 have no relevance.

    Candidates should not be judged on their personal income tax returns unless they are committing criminal acts which they are being investigated for.

    Look at the Rubio return. Someone, somewhere, ran the numbers through their software and “told” the media that their return was a fraud because the estimated payments line had to be wrong due to the interest and penalties calculated on the released return for 2012.

    Guess what, I ran those same numbers through my brain and then my software and came up with a totally different result. Way too much ambiguity to make or break a candidate.

    We work for our clients, not the IRS or, God forbid, the news media. Keep your private business private!

  • If Mr. Trump was my client, he would have signed an agreement with my firm. In it, he would be terminated for “cause” if he made a public comment stating he would release multiple years and then refuses to do so. Our firm would strongly suggest he does what he publicly said he would do or we could no longer represent him. Regarding the audit situation, if the head of the IRS says (and he did) there is no reason any audited year would not stop him from releasing, who am I to disagree? Frankly, it appears Mr. Trump spoke a little too soon, causing one to believe the returns contain damaging information. It’s a known fact it is why he dropped his 2012 run…

  • Part of this depends on the issues and the current posture of the audit. But I see little harm in making public a summary of his originally filed (or as amended) income tax returns with the caveat that it is subject to change.

  • I would suggest that he not reveal his tax information while he is in the process of being audited. With his financials having been turned in that should satisfy for the information. If they want him to release his tax returns, (any of them), then tell them to tell IRS to complete the audit ASAP.

  • Not enough information has been provided to give advice. We do not know which entities are under audit or if it is Mr. Trump personally, or if the entities have flow-through or pass-through items. I don’t know if reasonable compensation is an issue (which it might be for a non-publicly traded entity).

    I have seen cases in which the examiner wants later years returns without completing the year audit of the year before them.

    Mr. Trump has hired very sophisticated representatives to advise him about whether or not to release his tax returns. We do not need to be speculating.

    When Mr. Romney released his returns, no one questioned him where he got the $400 million investment that supposedly generated the income in the later year’s return.

  • As mentioned above, my duty is to my client and his/her tax matters. I would not advise him to release his returns for many of the reasons already stated above.

  • There is no legal requirement for a candidate to release their tax returns. Tax returns are private and they should remain private. A very bad precedents was set years ago by I believe Mitt Romney’s dad when he was a candidate. Trump has been smashing other ridiculous precedents this should be yet another one done away with. The Federal Election Committee has very thorough financial disclosure requirements those disclosures should be all that anyone would need.
    Mr Trump just say no!

  • It has no bearing on his audit if he releases the return. He filed the return, and if it was done so correctly what does he have to be concerned about?

    Mr. Trump is not really under audit!Do you believe that he and his attorneys would allow 12 consecutive audits of his personal returns?

  • Having represented upwards of 100 clients in front of federal and state auditors, I would absolutely recommend that he NOT release his personal tax returns publicly while under audit. It has nothing to do with having something to hide. It has everything to do with perception. I have spent 10, 20, 50,100 hours proving a position that I have 99% confidence in the position taken, but the auditor perceives there to be something wrong. In addition, the more public attention, the more an auditor feels they most cover. No auditor wants their audit under scrutiny. No auditor wants to be asked why they didn’t test a position taken. As a result, you end up spending more hours defending an audit even if there are no “real” issues concerned. At a clients request, I would write an entire paper on more reasons not to turn your pre-audit tax returns over to the public. However, cost has always been a good enough reason for my clients.

  • Let me say this. Bush was crap, Obama is crap. Politicians are as low as used car salesmen. I, honestly do not care what they do anymore.

    There are good times ahead, sans politicians. The global economy will definitely see great times ahead.

  • No. It is not a requirement for office. If the media wanted to they could probably get the ones that are more than 5 years of age via a FOI request.

  • Absolutely NO. There is no requirement at this stage of the campaign to release confidential tax returns. The media just wants more ammunition and it could affect the audit. Once he is the nominee, he will be required to release certain confidential financial information and he should do so as required. The tax returns, if still under audit, should be noted that the numbers are subject to change due to the audit in progress.

  • I am an Australian tax lawyer and, in Australia, a taxpayer’s tax information is confidential and cannot be disclosed by the ATO (other than to certain other agencies of government or with the approval of the taxpayer or in a court or tribunal in relation to a dispute between the ATO and the taxpayer in question. The ATO can, however, report the income or other matters of certain taxpayers, such as large multinationals – see link below from ATO website:

    https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Large-business/In-detail/Tax-transparency/Tax-transparency–reporting-of-entity-tax-information/

    See also further information re disclosure of confidential tax administration published by ATO:

    https://www.ato.gov.au/Tax-professionals/Your-practice/Legal-practitioners/Administration/Procedures-for-disclosing-protected-information/

  • If he were my client I would advise against it. Tax returns are a private matter and it isn’t anyone’s business but him and his CPA. His tax return is much more complicated than any of the other candidates, much more ammunition for the media to make hay of things they don’t understand.

  • PS: My comments above do not mean that a person cannot voluntarily release their tax details if they wish, just that in MOST cases they cannot be compelled to do so (other than to the ATO).

  • Absolutely Not. It is confidential and It is not required.
    If the media wants to know his financial standing, they can look at the Trump Enterprise financial that has been filed with the election committee.

  • Individual taxation, though similarly applicable to public figures, is still very much a private thing. It should only be open to public if there is consensus agreement by both parties, i.e. that individual tax payer and the relevant authorities responsible for administering tax returns.

  • Mr. Trump

    Thank God you have decided to run for President of the United States.

    Here is an idea to help fund the $180 billion dollar social security short fall.

    This may not be politically correct but if after vetting the 12 million illegals and potentially provide them legal access to work in the USA on the books
    we can potentially fund the $180 billion dollar social security shortfall in 7 years. See calculation below.

    Method To Save Social Security

    Illegal Aliens 12,000,000
    50% legal in workforce 6,000,000
    Average Salary $35,000
    Annual Wages $210,000,000,000
    12.4% Annual FICA Contribution $26,040,000,000
    Current Funding Shortfall $180,000,000,000
    Years to bring capture shortfall 7

    Regards,
    Rocco Basso
    Winter Garden Florida

  • Definitely not unless required by being the nominee.
    Abolish the IRS and go to a flat tax.

  • I don’t see how any benefit would come from releasing a candidate’s tax return only gives the opposition & the press ammunition. On top of that, very few people understand a tax return as it is. Since he’s under audit, the IRS might not catch something that someone else might bring to the light of day. I absolutely would advise him not to release his return. He has nothing to gain & everything to lose.

  • I would advise any client, whether it is Trump or anyone else, to NOT release the tax returns under any circumstances. When candidates ran for office shortly after tax returns were first filed, those candidates were not required to disclose their tax returns. They should not be required to do so now.

  • Time is of the essence in certain legal situations. When a taxpayer files a tax return, they assert it to be true. If a candidate is running for office, then his or her truthfulness is an issue and should be up for public scrutiny during the campaign time. It would be a moot point to hide a tax return until an audit is complete unless the audit is nearing completion early in the campaign election period of time. Thus time becomes of the essence in the disclosure to assist the public in forming an informed decision regarding the candidate. The tax return filed by all candidates are a necessary disclosure and should not be kept confidential merely because it is or may be subject to audit.

  • Ronald J. Cappuccio

    Mr. Trump should not publicize his tax returns while under audit. He stated that he gets audited almost every year. It would be foolish to publish the returns and would work against the interests of his tax attorneys.

    What surprised me was Mitt Romney’s attack on this issue. He should know better.Unfortunately, the public will think that Trump is “hiding” something.

  • I am certain Mr. Trump’s tax attorneys have advised him to not release the returns because of the on going audit. I would advise him to do the same as well. Mr. Trump is accurate by saying; showing the tax returns does not show his wealth other than the income he reports on a yearly basis and the tax bracket Mr. Trump is in.

    Financial Statements will show all the assets and liabilities and net wealth of Mr. Trump (again, correct by Mr. Trump’s responses). I believe the media has been very critical and still trying to damage Mr. Trump’s chances of being elected as president. I am certain Mr. Trump is under a microscope and is being monitored on a 24/7 basis by not only the media, reporters, the Republican party and Democratic party hopping that Mr. Trump fumbles the ball and is forced out of the race.

    No one argues the fact Mr. Trump may be arrogant, rude or demanding at times but, there is not one Chairman, CEO or President of any Company in the World that is any different in their daily business life. Mr. Trump has accomplished success not only for himself but for his stockholder’s not to say that some ventures may have not been successful which is part of life.

    • God help us if all the Chairmen (men or women), CEOs and Presidents in the world are just like Donald Trump!

  • As his attorney and advisor, knowing that he frequently crosses over the line from tax avoidance to tax evasion, just like he does in his business dealings, I would definitely advise against disclosing such self-incriminating evidence. But having said that, my client does enjoy bragging about all the fast ones he’s put over his partners, investors, friends and colleagues, so he may override my counsel.

    • Wearing my EA hat, I would never recommend making one’s tax returns public. This is, however, a political question. If Donald Trump truly wants to become POTUS, he must certainly release at least a salient transcript of his tax return history, as has become customary, but I’m not a political advisor.

  • Mr Trump,

    Tax the 45% of the non tax paying working population a minimum amount of $5-$100 flat fee based on income scale so everyone has skin in the game adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the Treasury to help eliminate the deficit.

  • It seems your only angst is the fact that you don’t trust the media. Nobody forced Mr. Trump to run for President and providing your tax returns is just part of the drill. It does not matter that they are currently under audit. This is a political issue and the public has a right to know, just like they do with any other candidate. If he didn’t want to release his returns, he should have never run for President. And what is he so worried about? He already referred to them as “beautiful”.

  • “If you haven’t been audited, you probably paid too much.” Comment I saw a long time ago, which may not be as true today.

    If it was a private citizen being requested to release his/her tax returns, I would say “NO.”

    Since it’s Trump, and he is running for President, I would say “YES, relsase your return.” He should know by now that his life is not his own at this point.

  • I would advise my client that it is best to wait until the audit is completed. As a professional I would want my client’s records to be etched in stone with the seal of approval passing all the scrutiny.

    What point would serve to make someone’s return public then have to update the information. For example, because there was an adjustment for something such as disallowed meals and entertainment expenses, an item we all are aware in the industry that is heavily audited.

    Food for thought – Something that I have always been interested in finding out from our politicians and county officials rather than displaying their tax returns is finding out by a series of tests: Can they really manage money? can they balance their checkbook? Are they upside down in their finances, too much credit card debt? Do they have a savings account? Do they constantly have bank overdrafts? Late on paying bills? Are they spending too much living the good life?

    At this point I have a tendency to believe that most of our elected officials can not manage money, and spend too much.

    If most of us ran our homes like the government spends our money we would be living in the homeless camps, have little or no food because we wouldn’t be able to survive.

    Who knows, maybe proving that their checkbook is balanced and they do not have a tendency to overspend, would give more faith to the populous that maybe they can do something about what is going on in the country.

  • I would say I will release my records to a professional to look at them, not the idiot biased media, First I am a tax consultant and I would not even want to look at his records, simply because they are complex and accounting of this type is confusing and would take hours and hours just to get a rough idea of what is going on. I would want to see them if I was a competitor trying to open a hotel near one of Trump’s. They would be a strain just to look at so what is the point, he must being doing things legal since he is getting audited all the time

    I have firm beliefs in exposing ones business matters if they are a government employee (servant like Hillary) we are paying the employee with tax dollars there is nothing to hide at all.
    And it should be a requirement

    I know about Nixon’s audit, Governor Rockafella of NY error’s
    Governor Weld of Mass errors

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