Why Donald Trump Should NOT Release his Tax Returns

I have been mulling this ever since I entered the contest to win lunch with Trump (no I did not give money to Trump or any other candidate – not yet – that is why I blog – I can support whoever I want to [which is also why I prefer not to be a member of the Hanover GOP committee as I would be under their discipline] and help them) about the Trump tax returns.  What should Donald Trump do?

Donald Trump should not, under any circumstances, release his tax returns.  I’ll discuss at the end of this column what Mr. Trump should do.

• Trump would lose an important narrative in the campaign if he releases his tax returns.  The people who want Trump to release his tax information are NOT his friends.  They are looking for useful stuff to lie about and fill the pages of the Washington Post and NYTimes and video time of CNN etc. with unfavorable items – he did not give enough to charity or the wrong charities etc. OR
• It would not be beyond the realm of probability that a news organization would hire a CPA or tax attorney (who is also pro-Hillary) to “examine” the tax returns to find alleged “tax avoidance” (which is not evasion but many especially globalists are blurring the term to beat politicians over the head with perfectly LEGAL tax avoidance plans) or even “cheating” – currency reports/inversions – the list is potentially endless and then (because they are NOT your friends, Mr. Trump) run a false narrative on taxes for days and days in the media cycle on the sins of Trump’s taxes (not the Hillary taxes or the Clinton Foundation of course).
• The tax form is probably joint with Melania and also reveals items about the Trump organizations as well. They are not running for office and still have some degree of privacy.

It is important to remember – no law requires the revealing of tax returns (I will never if I run for office [Lord forbid!] reveal any tax return unless required by law and I reserve the right to challenge the law in court!) and rather than reveal the actual return do this:

• Hire a CPA, who is ethically bound by the rules of his or her craft to be truthful upon pain of losing his or her CPA license, to give a summary of income earned and tax paid and that Donald Trump is in compliance with the tax laws.  Nothing else.  No details.  Then go back to YOUR campaign narrative.  Now about that lunch with Mr. Trump, I am glad to come up to Trump Tower and offer my thoughts on the campaign…