Let’s assume for a second that the Democrats sneak past the Constitution and are successful at receiving six years’ worth of tax returns for the current president of the United States. Do you know what they would find?
Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
There is no law requiring any elected federal official make his/her private tax returns public. There is nothing in the Constitution requiring such transparency either. There is a Fourth Amendment, however, but that pesky little thing shouldn’t stop Democrats in their ongoing quest to smear a sitting president. In case you forgot, or graduated from school in the last 20 years, or have a degree from Boston University and represent New York’s 14th Congressional District, the Fourth Amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” In other words, presidential tax returns are off limits and none of anyone’s business. The Fourth Amendment also makes it illegal to be spied upon by government agents without extreme justification, but I digress.
Keep in mind that Democrats are demanding his personal tax returns during a time prior to him becoming the president. His current “presidential” tax returns wouldn’t be too exciting, since we know how much he makes and that he gives all of his presidential salary to charity. His business interests would still be included, but they are likely in a blind trust or managed by his children.
I am not privy to the contents of the president’s tax returns, but I would be willing to wager the following three things are true:
First, Donald Trump’s tax returns have been regularly audited. He actually said so. When he claims he is currently under audit, there is no reason to doubt that he is telling the truth. Heck, I believed him when he stated that the previous administration had him under surveillance. Looks like that is true, too. It’s a safe bet that a billionaire’s taxes are audited regularly by the IRS. It is also a safe bet that if they ever found something serious, he would have been charged with tax evasion. Since he has not, one can assume that he has done nothing illegal.
Second, I would bet the farm that Donald Trump doesn’t do his own taxes, nor does he have them done at H&R Block. Call me crazy, but I would surmise that he has a team of accountants and tax attorneys who prepare his return on his behalf. One could also assume that they take full advantage of all tax credits, deductions, write-offs, depreciation, and other legal means used regularly by millions of other tax filers.
Third, considering the recent behavior of IRS employees and their ideological disdain for conservatives (see Lois Lerner), it would come as a complete shock if they found something salacious in his tax returns and were able to keep it a secret. It would be illegal for them to disclose such information, but it is also illegal to target groups for their political beliefs, keep classified information on an unclassified system, leak confidential information to the press, present false information to a FISA court and so on. When the self-appointed guardians of truth and justice do it, it’s okay because they’re Leftists. Rules and laws don’t apply to them.
So, why are Democrats so eager to see Trump’s tax returns? Easy. They would be used to both smear the President and demonize the rich -- or what the Democrats call a win/win. One would have to assume that Trump at some point wrote off some serious losses and/or used depreciation to get his taxes down to a more reasonable amount, or even, gasp, zero. Oh, the humanity! He likely even carried forward losses over one or more years. The horror! I can hear the Democrats screaming now, “He made millions and didn’t pay any taxes!” That claim would replace formerly favored phrases like “Russia collusion!” and “Trump Tower!” Of course, Democrats are too stupid to understand that there is a difference between gross and net income, profit and loss, revenue and expenses.
As much as I am for transparency, I’m with the president on releasing his tax returns. He should tell them to pound sand.