# Why would Congress make Trump's tax returns public? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 20, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859 "2022-12-20T18:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/141 "2022-12-30T15:34:31Z")
Maybe she taught him how to write. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/142 "2022-12-30T20:28:15Z")
The pubbies are making dire threats about publishing Democrats’ returns now, which is not exactly the same thing, now is it? I’m pretty sure they don’t really want to start that sort of war, although the ones yammering the loudest really ought to have theirs published. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/143 "2022-12-30T20:41:56Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > publishing Democrats’ returns now The Dem’s returns are already published. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/144 "2022-12-30T20:48:32Z")
Personally, I think that anyone that seeks public office should have all their finances transparent to the public. That that means that people with things to hide in their finances won’t seek public office is a feature. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/145 "2022-12-30T23:54:55Z")
I don’t follow politics on Twitter but sometimes Twitter feeds them to me anyhow and I had the displeasure of seeing a Don Jr. tweet along the lines of “See? No crimes in there!” So I ask you this… is there actually a box on your tax forms for listing your crimes? If you intend to defraud the government check here and make sure to itemize your schemes? I think Trump’s defenses will follow the standard pattern: I didn’t do anything wrong. If something looks wrong it’s because my enemies hate me and are just trying to make me look bad. Those rules doesn’t apply to me anyhow because Hunter Biden. I released the tax returns myself to show how innocent I am and anything that indicates otherwise was planted. Go look at Hunter Biden, he’s the real criminal. Lather, rinse, repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/146 "2022-12-31T00:49:46Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Personally, I think that anyone that seeks public office should have all their finances transparent to the public. > > That that means that people with things to hide in their finances won’t seek public office is a feature. Or, with sufficient advance notice, they’ll hide things so well that nobody will dig far enough, because everything in the first few layers will look just fine. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/147 "2022-12-31T00:55:50Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > nobody will dig far enough, because everything in the first few layers will look just fine. Between opposition research and investigative journalists, I’m sure at least some of it will be caught, enough to make politicians nervous about hiding things. With the current system of finances being private, there is little to be done there legally. If it is legal to pull up a politician’s tax returns, get their bank statements, or look into other financial matters that would be private to a private citizen, it’s going to be very hard to hide illicit activities. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/148 "2022-12-31T01:21:59Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > is there actually a box on your tax forms for listing your crimes? If you intend to defraud the government check here and make sure to itemize your schemes? FWIW, there is. IRS [publications](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17#en_US_2022_publink1000172143) even direct you on where to report various types of illegal income. > **Illegal activities.** > Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity. I also saw a section on income from stolen property (you have to report it in the year you steal it) and was directed to another publication if I wanted to read about “Illegal bribes and kickbacks”. To be clear, I’m not suggesting DJT or anyone else would actually fill that part in (or would they?), I just always think it’s funny that they have a “please list your crimes here” line. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/149 "2022-12-31T01:26:31Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To be clear, I’m not suggesting DJT or anyone else would actually fill that part in (or would they?), I just always think it’s funny that they have a “please list your crimes here” line. I think it’s because people can be charged with tax evasion so you have to give them a way to actually pay the taxes in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/150 "2022-12-31T14:05:32Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To be clear, I’m not suggesting DJT or anyone else would actually fill that part in (or would they?), I just always think it’s funny that they have a “please list your crimes here” line. This may also serve the function of adding another crime – filing a false tax form – to what they can ding criminals for. It might also be easier to prove somehow…? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/151 "2022-12-31T14:22:26Z")
It seems like that should fall under the same precedent that says that a criminal cannot be charged for not registering a gun in their possession, as that is a form of self incrimination. Similarly, being required to list your crimes on your tax forms seems to be the same sort of self incrimination. And, similar to how if a criminal will still be charged with possession and use of a gun if caught, if someone is caught doing making money illegally, they would not only face whatever punishment is appropriate for those crimes, but also owe the taxes on them, but more of as an audit, rather than a crime. Anyway, that would probably only make sense if our criminal justice system made sense, which it generally doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/152 "2022-12-31T14:37:17Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > but also owe the taxes on them, but more of as an audit, rather than a crime. Intentionally failing to report taxable income is normally a crime, not simply a matter of an audit. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/153 "2022-12-31T14:42:06Z")
Yes, I _am_ aware of that. That’s why I was saying that that should be _changed_, as being required to report your own criminal activity is self incrimination. That that is not how it currently is utterly irrelevant to what I said. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/154 "2022-12-31T23:08:15Z")
While you are required to report your income, you are only requested to report the nature of that income. The IRS would like to know the nature of it, but unless it affects the tax treatment of the income, it doesn’t really matter. If you get audited, the IRS’s concern will be if they find or impute income that you didn’t report - not that they don’t know what caused you to come into some money that you did report. If you don’t cooperate with their inquiries, you may find yourself paying self-employment tax on income that you didn’t need to because the IRS cannot verify that it wasn’t part of a trade or business. They can also deny any deductions that you take because they might believe the income was from trafficking in controlled substances, and there’s a specific law that makes deducting expenses in that line of work not allowed. But none of this will cause them to require you to answer as to the nature of the income; you’ll pay more in tax, but will not be subject to criminal penalties for evading income taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/155 "2023-01-02T13:58:44Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The fact that they did so with one private American citizen just _yesterday_ is all the cite I need, my friend. Trump gave up being a private citizen in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/156 "2023-01-02T14:09:22Z")
… and became one again on January 20th, 2021. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/157 "2023-01-04T16:55:40Z")
Why is another man’s taxes any of our business? Can we demand the returns of Hillary Clinton? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/158 "2023-01-04T17:00:02Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > Can we demand the returns of Hillary Clinton? Sure > **[Hillary releases 8 years of tax returns](https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/hillary-clinton-releases-eight-years-of-tax-returns-120882)** > > Clinton seemed to try to play down the multi-million-dollar figures by stressing her humble roots. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/159 "2023-01-04T18:26:56Z")
Trump is the only one trying to keep his a secret, you know. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859/160 "2023-01-04T18:27:27Z")
The financial dealings of the President is very much our business. It’s not just some random “man” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-congress-make-trumps-tax-returns-public/976859.md?page=9)