Tax Expert: 5 Reasons Donald Trump Tax Returns Should Not Be Released [Video]

WALLINGFORD, Conn. /PRNewswire/ — Tax expert Anthony E. Parent, Esq. has just released an article that focuses on a topic that is on many peoples’ minds right now: Donald Trump tax returns. Titled “5 Reasons Why Donald Trump is Right To Not Release His Returns,” Parent takes an in-depth look at this issue and why he feels Trump is correct in not wanting to release this personal information.

Anthony and Claudine discuss the complete BS of releasing tax returns for public scrutiny:

Read the new article in its entirety: 

Being a tax attorney is the biggest unexpected thrill in my life. I decided to specialize in tax so many years ago for pragmatic reasons, but it has turned into my passion. The passion comes for various reasons: I have the best clients in the world. And tax law is the most complicated thing in the history of the world, thus there is always abundant fodder for argument. There were many times when we thought we lost a position, but then we found something that saved the day.

In the past 10 years we’ve helped thousands of clients, and learned that very sophisticated, very smart people are fairly ignorant about how the tax code really works. For good reason; there is no training on the tax code for the average taxpayer. As for myself, a tax professional, it seems like every day even I learn something new — and this after practicing law for nearly 15 years! There’s always more to learn…isn’t that amazing?

Here’s one thing you can learn: a tax return doesn’t mean all that much. It’s just a bunch of numbers that somebody plugs in. Looking at someone’s tax return isn’t going to provide you with any special clairvoyance into their life.

You know who else agrees with me? The IRS. When the IRS examines your tax return, they don’t just look at your tax return and magically know if you’ve mis-filed (intentionally or innocently). An IRS examiner has to investigate to find out where you got your numbers from.

It has become customary for presidential candidates to release their tax return information for public scrutiny. Here’s a webpage with a whole collection. As if it is somehow the public’s right…andas if a tax return will tell you something important. Here we could disagree, but you would be wrong. So here are five reasons why a presidential candidate should not release their tax returns:

1. The tax returns you see are not necessary what is filed.

Take a look at the returns released by presidential candidates. You find a lot of them are unsigned, and even if they were signed, how do you know they were actually filed with the IRS? The answer is you don’t know. If someone was trying to create a false image of their affairs, do you see how easy it would be? The point of looking at someones’ tax return is to see if they are up to no good. If they are up to no good, it would be ridiculously easy for them to hide it! It would be like asking a presidential candidate to score their own lie detector test.

2. Even if they were filed, did you see if they amended returns?

Let’s suppose that you actually saw the real returns that were filed as-is. Do you know if a tax amendment was made later that day? You really have no clue what was filed or changed. You justthink you know, and that’s perhaps even more dangerous.

3. Do you know what any of this means?

Let’s suppose you are a tax expert; smarter than any other CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney. That you are the best in the business at discovering fraud.

In reviewing the returns you still wouldn’t know anything important. You have no idea where the numbers put on that tax return came from. For instance, “consulting” is a rather vague term (also a very popular term used on many presidential and candidate returns). Then there’s the “speaking fees” income that the Clinton’s claimed. But were those fees really for speaking, or were they for something else? Of course, the person paying the bill would not claim it is a bribe, because bribes are not tax deductible. But speaking fees are. So you can have accurate numbers, but parties can have a self-interest to work in collusion to obfuscate the true nature of a payment.

4.What about partnership returns ? Corporate returns?

Let’s say that I was going to do something shady, but I didn’t want to run the risk of a tax evasion indictment. I would set up a shell company to run the books through; something without my name or social security number tied to it. Hence it wouldn’t be on my tax return.

For their tax returns, partnerships file IRS Form 1065, corporations files a Form 1120 or 1120-S. If someone has foreign entities, like a foreign trust, foreign partnership or foreign corporation those could require Forms 3520-A/3520, Form 8865 and Form 5471, respectively.

Yet in all of the tax returns released by presidential candidates, (at least the ones we reviewed) wouldn’t you know it…you will find no partnerships, trusts, or corporation returns of any kind. Huh.

5. The Security Risks

Your Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is something that is used for Identity verification. Why would you ever want that to be public? It is dangerous to share that information.

Also, the IRS has warned about many phishing scams involving tax professionals. It’s just not a good idea to let people know who prepares your returns. You are opening yourself, and others, to scammers who may use this information to help them pose as the IRS.

“Look at me…I’m an every man! I pay my taxes! Just. Like. You.”

Seriously, what is the point of releasing tax returns? To prove that you are just a regular guy or girl? Well, you are running for president of the most powerful nation of all time. You aren’t an every man. So just stop it.

If we are looking at tax returns as indication of fraud that should disqualify someone from office, we are only exposing our own ignorance of what a tax return does.

The best lies contain truth. Aren’t we smart enough to know this by now? So anyone could release things that are true, yet easily hide the things that are not so helpful to an image of moral uprightedness. A partial release of tax information can assist a fraudster to appear to be on the up-and-up while leaving out what is actually important.

Let’s stop this stupid practice. Keep your returns private.

As Parent clarifies in the article, he not only feels that Trump should not release his returns—he believes this applies to all presidential candidates. As he noted, as a tax attorney, he has learned that a tax return does not mean as much as many people have been led to believe.

In addition, Parent noted, many of the tax returns that have been released by past presidential candidates are not necessarily what was actually filed with the IRS. Many of them are unsigned, but even the ones that were signed might be fabricated documents.

“If someone was trying to create a false image of their affairs, do you see how easy it would be?” Parent asks in the new article.

“The point of looking at someone’s tax return is to see if they are up to no good. If they are up to no good, it would be ridiculously easy for them to hide it. It would be like asking a presidential candidate to score their own lie detector test.”

Another reason Trump should not feel compelled to release his tax returns, Parent wrote, is that most people will not learn anything important about the candidate, including what numbers like “consulting” and “speaking fees” truly mean.

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