It’s not the first time we’ve heard it, but talk is coming
again about Donald Trump’s tax returns. With the Democrats holding power in the
House of Representatives, the chance that those returns will be seen may be
difficult to gauge with precision, but they are certainly greater than they
were six months ago.
I wonder how this is going to play as we get deeper into the
tax season. More people are going to be finding out just how the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act affects them, and you can be sure that the loudest voices are going to
be the ones most drastically affected. So with more people talking about taxes,
and possibly loudly talking about them, the president and his taxes will surely
remain a talking point.
But just what would we find out if his returns are released?
First, the return would give only a rough look at how much
Trump is actually worth. He claims it is billions of dollars at times, while
detractors believe it to be a much smaller number. My bet would be that the
truth lies – like it does with almost everything – somewhere in the middle. A
tax return, though, deals in taxable income, not overall worth.
The returns do actually show some things, and a big one is
just how much someone pays in taxes. At a time now when there are going to be
people out there talking about how much more they are paying under the TCJA, I
imagine that many are going to hope that Trump was paying his fair share.
Rhetoric in some areas is sure to amp up that Trump’s tax
plan was made to benefit the wealthy, and that the wealthy are given advantages
that allow them to pay less tax than they should. This could become tricky for
the president who in the past told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos
that “I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible,” back when his
returns were an election issue.
It is important to note that this does not mean that Trump
has done anything illegal, shady or underhanded. If the fact that he could pay
next to nothing bothers someone, then the correct place to put the blame is on
the system, not on someone working within that system. Even if it turns out
that the system he helped implement further solidified his ability to pay
little, one can say it’s wrong, but not illegal.
A tax return would also show how much money Trump gives to
charity, which could also be a polarizing issue. Trump has claimed he is
charitable, while others say the money he claims to donate is done through
other organizations, where even if he is involved, it is not actually his money
going to the charity.
So gear up for taxes to be news over the next
few months for many reasons. And let this be a reminder that you need to handle
your return, because even if the public doesn’t see it, the IRS wants to. And it just so happens that many slots are
available now to make your appointment to do so before everything amps up.
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