Donald Trump resisted renewed calls to release his tax returns on Friday, telling a TV interviewer that his tax rate is “none of your business” – though he’d be the first presidential nominee in 40 years to not release his returns.
Trump’s latest refusal to release his tax returns came as ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos pressed him on the matter. Presidential candidates have traditionally released their tax returns, but Trump has refused, citing what he says is an ongoing Internal Revenue Service audit.
Trump said he’d be glad to make his returns public when the audit is resolved, though he said he doesn’t believe voters have a right to see his returns before they go to the voting booth in November.
“I don't think they do. But I do say this, I will really gladly give them,” Trump said, adding that he hopes the audits are completed before the election.
He said voters won’t “learn anything” from his tax returns and insisted there was nothing nefarious, such as Swiss bank accounts or offshore accounts.
“I really have a very clean company,” he said. (Trump’s name shows up on 3,540 of the leaked Panama Papers documents, but the real estate mogul and billionaire doesn’t appear to be the direct owner of any offshore company formed by Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm at the heart of the documents.)
He complained that he’s targeted for a review every year, citing the audits as a block, though Stephanopoulos noted that former president Richard Nixon released his tax returns when he was under audit. Stephanopoulos also noted that the IRS has said Trump would be free to release the tax returns when he wants – and that he did release his returns to state officials when he was seeking casino licenses in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“I want to get through the audit first, and that’s what I’ll do,” Trump said.