Donald Trump says his tax returns are currently being audited, and that he won't release them while an inspection is continuing. But there is no legal reason why the president can't release his returns while an audit is taking place, and he would be the first in almost 50 years NOT to make them available.

Is Trump under audit?

It has been common practice since the 1970s for US presidents to be audited by the IRS. It is therefore likely that President Trump's accounts have been under audit since he took office in 2017.

Even before he took office, one of Mr Trump's lawyers released a letter saying his tax returns had been under "continuous examination" since 2002.

Can Trump release his tax returns if under audit?

Yes.

Despite it being regular practice for sitting presidents to be under audit, every president since Gerald Ford has released complete tax returns while in office. But he isn't legally obliged to release his tax returns publicly.

There is however a law stating the president must hand over his tax returns to the US Congress to be reviewed confidentially if requested.When asked about the law in April, Trump said: "No, there is no law. As you know, I got elected last time with this same issue. And while I'm under audit, I won't do it."

US 2020 election: Can Trump release his tax returns?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2020-54323383


Maybe, one day, the law will catch up with Trump for tax evasion and he'll find himself behind bars, like Al Capone .....

Your UNFOUNDED accusation that Trump has done anything illegal is almost funny!

Exactly. Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?

Whatever happened to truth, honesty and integrity .....

Patently, Trump hasn't got a clue about their whereabouts .....

Proof? I've seen none, just innuendo and snide unproven accusations.

I can't see that Trump would have engaged in tax evasion. Tax avoidance is entirely legal and anyone who doesn't take every opportunity to avoid paying tax is a mug.

Are you talking about paying no more than is legally required or paying none at all?

According to the US Bureau on Labor Statistics, the average American household paid $9,302 in federal income tax in 2018, on an average earnings figure of $78,635.

Hanging over Trump is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.

Within the next four years, more than $300 million in loans — obligations for which he is personally responsible — will come due.

Trump has reported paying taxes, in turn, on a number of his overseas ventures. In 2017, the president’s $750 contribution to the operations of the U.S. government was dwarfed by the $15,598 he or his companies paid in Panama, the $145,400 in India and the $156,824 in the Philippines.

The Times examined and analyzed the data from thousands of individual and business tax returns for 2000 through 2017, along with additional tax information from other years. The trove included years of employee compensation information and records of cash payments between the president and his businesses, as well as information about ongoing federal audits of his taxes. This article also draws upon dozens of interviews and previously unreported material from other sources, both public and confidential.

All of the information The Times obtained was provided by sources with legal access to it. While most of the tax data has not previously been made public, The Times was able to verify portions of it by comparing it with publicly available information and confidential records previously obtained by The Times.