Trumping the IRS: Trump’s 2016 tax returns released

SEPTEMBER 27 – The New York Times released a detailed tax history on President Donald Trump, including the revelation that Trump only paid $750 in tax returns the year he was elected to office.

The American public has demanded that Trump release his tax returns since his campaign began over four years ago. According to PolitiFact, every president in the past forty years– except for Gerald Ford– has released their tax returns during campaigns or while in office. 

While it is not mandatory for a presidential candidate to make these reports public, it is customary; in not releasing these documents as nearly every president in recent memory has done before him, Trump’s tax history has always been laced with suspicion. 

The release of the NYT’s report made a huge splash at the first presidential debate Tuesday night, where Trump both denied the  report and insisted he would reveal his “true” tax returns in an exchange with mediator Chris Wallace of Fox News.

When asked how much money Trump paid in federal income tax in the years 2016 and 2017, Trump replied “millions of dollars… and you’ll get to see it.”

In addition to his denial of the NYT’s report accuracy, Trump gave an actual estimated dollar amount paid in income tax for the years 2016 and 2017. No matter the validity of this statement, this actual dollar amount backs the President into a corner: if he actually did pay this amount, great. If he paid anything less, he outright lied to the American public during a presidential debate.  

The only way to properly deny the NYT’s report, prove he is a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, and to make good on his promise, is for Trump to release his tax returns.