Tax returns: from 'certainly' to audit excuses
WHEN & WHERE WAS IT SAID?
When: Feb 25, 2016
Where: Republican primary debate
Original context / reporting ↗He couldn't release tax returns while being audited
WHAT HE SAID (WORD FOR WORD, SADLY)
At the debate he said, "I'm being audited now for two or three years, so I can't do it until the audit is finished, obviously."
WHEN AND WHERE (THE RECEIPTS HAVE A CALENDAR)
Republican debate, Feb. 25, 2016. A year earlier, on Feb. 25, 2015, he told Hugh Hewitt he would 'certainly' show his returns if necessary.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS (BRING SNACKS)
- Any taxpayer can authorize release of tax information by signing IRS Form 8821, which has no exception for returns under audit.
- FactCheck.org found no law or regulation preventing him from releasing his filed returns.
- After the debate he told CNN his lawyers would not allow release. FactCheck.org's reading: 'won't', not 'can't'.
WHY THIS MATTERS
From 'certainly' to 'not until the audit': the same returns, a different excuse.
FactCheck.org documented Trump's reversal on releasing returns and explained that an audit did not prevent publication.
Finding: MisleadingTechnically words. Technically.
Sources & further reading
Keep digging
- No tax on tips, overtime or Social Security? Terms apply.
- A record number of workers — but what about the rate?
- Zero illegal entries? That is not what the data show.
Editorial note: each article reports only details found in the linked sources. Where a source does not give a venue, date or exact wording, we say so instead of guessing. Quotations may need further editorial verification against primary recordings or transcripts.