Donald Trump’s taxes are a big deal
Between now and Election Day, there will be plenty of leaks and heavily spun, semi-news stories attacking both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The task for voters is to sift through them and give them the weight they deserve.
Consider the two in recent days: Clinton’s comments about millennials as “children of the Great Recession” living in their parents’ basements, and Trump’s 1995 tax returns, in which he claimed a $916 million loss that could have been enough to avoid paying federal income taxes for nearly two decades.
There’s no comparison.
Released through an email hack, Clinton’s speech at a February fundraiser might make it more difficult for her to sway some young voters who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders. But Sanders, himself, declared that what Clinton said was basically true. A lot of people in their 20s are living in their parents basements, often due to crushing college debt, and they want desperately to move out. Most would welcome recognition of their plight.
On the other hand, the issue of Trump’s taxes goes to the core of his candidacy.
He’s promoting himself as a savvy businessman who can boost America’s economy, but how does that square with claiming to have lost nearly $1 billion in a single year?
Mailed anonymously to The New York Times, Trump’s tax returns also go to the heart of the overarching issue of economic fairness. He apparently did nothing illegal, and Trump bragged Monday that he “brilliantly” used the tax code. And we do not believe that people should pay more in taxes than they owe – our government is not charity.
But there are an enormous number of wrinkles ironed into our tax code, most to benefit wealthy people. Those are the same wealthy people who make large contributions to politicians so that those loopholes and tax breaks become law. Democrats and Republicans are both hard at work creating such breaks for the extremely wealthy – breaks that don’t apply to the vast majority of Americans. And it’s not fair.
Voters need to ask: How is it proper for someone who wants to be president to repeatedly skirt federal taxes that pay for defending the nation, protecting the environment, helping students go to college and everything else?
In battleground state of Ohio on Monday, Clinton blasted Trump for taking advantage of a tax system rigged in favor of the rich. She said while millions of American families were paying their “fair share,” Trump was “contributing nothing to our nation” while also seeking government subsidies for his companies. And she pointed out that Trump proposes even more tax cuts for himself and other wealthy Americans.
In Colorado, Trump argued that because he understands the “unfair” tax system, he’s the one to fix it.
That’s a really hard sell – made even tougher because Trump won’t release his tax returns, as the Clintons have done (she and Bill paid $3.24 million in federal taxes last year). So has every other major presidential candidate for decades.
Until he does, Trump should stop criticizing Clinton for lack of transparency and cease claiming he’s the champion of American workers.
His most ardent fans – people like Rudy Guilianni, who thinks Trump is a genius for avoiding taxes – won’t care. But those who are still trying to weigh the merits and demerits of these candidates (of which there are many), should think about the fundamental hypocrisy of Trump’s candidacy. He says he’s charitable, that he’s a great businessman, that he has nothing to hide. And yet, the documents that would prove his point he refuses to release.
This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Donald Trump’s taxes are a big deal."