Joseph Thorndike of the Tax History Project, said Mr Trump would be the
first major candidate since 1976
to not make any of his full returns public. President Gerald Ford
released a tax summary that year, but not his full records.
“I think 40 years of tradition carries real moral and ethical weight,”
Mr Thorndike said. “It is quite striking that a
major candidate would decide not to release their tax information,
especially someone with an admittedly complex
tax situation.”
Mr Trump promised that he would release his tax information but said he
was unable to do so immediately because
he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, and that his
lawyers advised him against it. Mr Trump has also
explained that he cannot release returns from previous years because the
government audits him almost every year.
