Why Donald Trump will never reveal his income tax returns

By Rob Janicki

I find it amusing that anyone would ever believe that Donald Trump will reveal his personal income tax returns at any point in time.  Since first questioned about his personal tax returns, Trump has made more pirouettes on the issue than a ballerina in a Swan Lake ballet performance.  

Donald Trump, with a straight face, can lie and his supporters will accept the lie with equanimity and explain that it's just "Trump being Trump", all the while telling everyone that Trump "tells it like it is".  That's pure nonsense.  Donald Trump has set the ground rules for his lying during the GOP campaign.   When he is caught lying, Trump merely lies again when he claims he never made the original statement that has been proven to be an outright lie.  Again, that's just "Trump being Trump."  That's just what narcissists with no moral or ethical scruples do.  Obama does it everyday.  

Moving on.  

The latest information from Donald Trump is that he will not release his personal income tax returns before the November 8th election because he is under an IRS audit for an unsaid set of years and on the advice of counsel will not be releasing any returns until the current audit is completed.  You can bank on Trump's promise not to release any of his tax returns, so let's look at the two possibilities after November 8th. 

If Trump loses the presidential election, the issue of revealing his personal income tax returns becomes moot.  End of story.

If Trump wins the presidential election, be assured that he will thumb his nose to the public and will tell the public to take a flying fandango at ever seeing his personal income tax returns.  That's Donald Trump being Donald Trump.  If Trump were to win the seat of power in American government there simply is no way that anyone can compel Trump to reveal his personal income tax returns and Donald knows it.  Score that as a Trump victory with a resounding loss to political transparency  

Up to now Trump, to his credit, has managed to completely control the GOP primary campaign telling the GOP whether he will or will not support the ultimate GOP presidential candidate.  More importantly, Trump has completely managed to singlehandedly throw the entire GOP establishment off balance by claiming the entire GOP primary process is rigged and corrupt, even though he has essentially led the entire GOP primary process from the very beginning.  Some people would say Trump has chutzpah, while other would say he has a lot of nerve to bite the hand that is about to hand him the GOP presidential nomination. 

Let's be clear about something that Donald Trump completely understands.  Presidential candidates or presidents are under no legal obligation whatsoever to reveal their personal income tax returns.  That said, presidential candidates since 1976 have provided their personal income tax returns before the presidential election.  Trump, more than likely, will be the exception to this pattern of transparency, a rare moment in politics.

In conclusion, a reasonable person has to ask why would Donald Trump reveal his tax returns anywhere close to the general election?  There is little or no upside and the downside could easily be a disaster for Trump.  In the meantime, expect Trump spokespeople to stonewall this issue with obfuscations and misdirections.  That's just what the Trump campaign does when questions become too pithy and pointed.