“I’m always audited by the IRS, which I think is very unfair – I don’t know, maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, maybe because I’m doing this, although this is just recently”, Trump told CNN.
Advertisement
Mr Romney said the billionaire was “dodging and delaying” on releasing his returns, which could shake up the race.
In an interview with CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, the two were talking about possible reasons why Trump gets audited every year by the IRS.
Trump has claimed that he’s worth more than $10 billion and that voters can find out more about his finances from his financial disclosure statements than they can from tax returns.
David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize winning tax author, said an audit itself would not prevent Trump from releasing his tax returns.
He also challenged the Republican presidential hopefuls that if they don’t want transparency on their taxes, it would simply mean that there’s something they don’t want the public to see.
Trump has said that he can’t release his tax returns until after this year’s audit is complete, which is probably on the advice of counsel.
So that’s how you pull off 12 straight years of tax audits, losers. However there could be carry forwards of certain items to the most recent year filed (i.e. 2014). “And I think people would understand that”.
One one hand, Romney has his own experience with letting his opponents set the narrative on his taxes so “he has the ideal opportunity to give fatherly advice on this”, noted Snyder.
“Mitt Romney, who was one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics, is now pushing me on tax returns”, Trump tweeted.
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Friday it would be “rare” for an individual taxpayer to be audited as frequently as Trump says he has been.
While not citing Trump by name, the IRS also disputed the businessman’s suggestions that he is being audited for political reasons or because he is a Christian.
“I watch him backstage”. Trump scoffed at Romney’s suggestion. But tax experts say it is normal for the IRS to disproportionately focus on high earners with complex returns.
But as Politico reports, nothing in the law prohibits him from releasing his returns.
But regular audits wouldnt necessarily be a sign of anything more than the complexity of Trumps tax returns, Thorndike said: No one claims its a lottery..
“I’ve enjoyed his campaign”, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, a Rubio supporter, said of Trump.
Advertisement
Romney had faced a great deal of scrutiny about his own taxes in 2012 when a rumor began circulating that Romney had avoided paying taxes for as long as ten years. Since 2007, the Clintons have paid more than $57 million in taxes and $14.9 million in gifts to charity.
