To: Donald Trump
Donald Trump - Release your tax returns!
The voters deserve to see a Presidential candidate's tax returns. Transparency in government matters. Past GOP and Democratic Party nominees, including Hillary Clinton have released their returns. What are you hiding?
Why is this important?
From sunlight.com concerning candidate transparency and tax returns "Unlike Congress, Presidents are exempt from conflict of interest laws.
This makes disclosure of income tax returns especially important to shed light on areas of possible conflicts of interest. Yearly salaries are often reported in the news but tax returns reveal so much more about the character of the candidate. Their debts give us a broader sense of the state of their finances, and perhaps more importantly an idea to whom they could feel beholden. We learn how much (or little) they paid in taxes, and whether they utilized loopholes in tax law to avoid paying those taxes. It sheds light on whether they conducted activity that they have criticized on the campaign trail.
Learning about candidates businesses, business partners and the state of those activities can help understand how their judgment might be affected by their financial transactions and debts.
We learn their values and priorities from learning which charities they support."
After reading this and other articles on candidate transparency, I believe the least a candidate can provide the electorate is full financial disclosure.
This makes disclosure of income tax returns especially important to shed light on areas of possible conflicts of interest. Yearly salaries are often reported in the news but tax returns reveal so much more about the character of the candidate. Their debts give us a broader sense of the state of their finances, and perhaps more importantly an idea to whom they could feel beholden. We learn how much (or little) they paid in taxes, and whether they utilized loopholes in tax law to avoid paying those taxes. It sheds light on whether they conducted activity that they have criticized on the campaign trail.
Learning about candidates businesses, business partners and the state of those activities can help understand how their judgment might be affected by their financial transactions and debts.
We learn their values and priorities from learning which charities they support."
After reading this and other articles on candidate transparency, I believe the least a candidate can provide the electorate is full financial disclosure.