For most of the year, we have been wondering what Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is hiding on his tax returns. Every candidate for the last fifty years has released their tax returns.
Democrats are wanting to take this controversy in Congress. They would like the Senate to vote on whether or not Donald Trump should release the returns. This could push back the voting on the Zika virus.
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that they would like the Senate to consider his bill to make the presidential nominees from each major party release at least three years worth of tax returns.
Murphy said:
“The American people have just come to expect that tax returns would be released. This an exceptional moment where a long-standing precedent has been broken, and it presents enormous peril to the public to have this information as private.”
There have been a lot of questions regarding his charitable donations, his income tax on his employees. Wyden said that the voters “have a right to have that out in the open.”
Trump has given many excuses. First, he said it was because of an audit, but there are no restrictions on releasing tax returns while you are being audited.
Why Donald Trump refuses to show his tax returns.#UniteBlue #TopProg #ctl #p2 #NeverTrump pic.twitter.com/8rumILoLk9
— McSpocky™ ?? ? ? (@mcspocky) August 16, 2016
Wyden said:
“What we’re talking about is essential because we have a candidate who is flouting a 40-year tradition. Since Watergate, every single Democrat, every single Republican has said this is something the American people have a right to have before they vote for the most important office in the world.”
Even some Trump supporters are calling for The Donald to release his tax returns. South Carolina Republican Senator Mark Sanford said:
“To (Trump), demands that he release his tax returns are just a ploy by his opponents and enemies to undermine his campaign. But that obstinacy will have consequences. Not releasing his tax returns would hurt transparency in our democratic process, and particularly in how voters evaluate the men and women vying to be our leaders. Whether he wins or loses, that is something our country cannot afford.”
Author Tim O’Brien wrote a book about Donald Trump in 2004. When Trump sued him about it, O’Brien saw the tax returns. He is not allowed to mention specifics, but Trump is likely only worth $250 million, not the $10 billion he claims it is.
Featured image by Mike Licht via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
