Through a statement on Tuesday, Trump’s presidential campaign announced that through a Personal Financial Disclosure he has claimed a net worth that surpassed $10 billion.
According to Trump, the report boasting 105 pages was filed earlier this week, thanks to the fact that he is “allowed extensions,” and that it is “the largest in the history of the Federal Election Commission.”
But Donald Trump is still to release his tax returns, as most of the other candidates have already done so. Many theorize that either Trump’s wealth may not be as large as it seems or that he has undisclosed businesses that he does not want in the public light.
Donald Trump’s money-backed candidacy
It is known that the GOP candidate has already spent over $36 million in his presidential campaign. But $36 million is a small amount, as Trump has reportedly increased his revenue by $200 million from 2014 to 2015.
Donald Trump also dissed democrat candidate Bernie Sanders for filing an extension for “his small report,” arguing that “this is the difference between a businessman and the all-talk, no action politicians that have failed the American people for far too long.”
Trump is still basing his campaign on his successful real estate entrepreneurship, where he has been able to earn a yearly income of $557 million according to his last statements. This amount does not take into consideration taxes, dividends, interests, rents, royalties or any other source of alternate income.
The republican candidate states that he cannot outlet his tax returns because of an ongoing audit, but the excuse just doesn’t seem to convince the electorate. Regarding his tax returns, Trump says that “there is nothing to learn from them.” He had already promised in 2011 and 2012 to release his tax returns, as he criticized Obama for not releasing his birth certificate and Mitt Romney about his taxes respectively.
Presidential candidates have followed the tradition of releasing their tax statements since Richard Nixon did the same thing as he was being audited. It turns out that Nixon owed over $2 million in taxes. If Trump doesn’t comply and releases his tax statements, he would become the first presidential candidate in 40 years not to do so, as the other runners for office, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, have released their corresponding tax return statements. The most recent referral made by Trump regarding a tax statement release was a tweet sent last week:
In interview I told @AP that my taxes are under routine audit and I would release my tax returns when audit is complete, not after election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2016
It is a mandatory procedure dictated by the Federal Election Commission for candidates to file a financial statement that shows the candidate’s assets, but it does not require them to cite sources of income as it is the case of a tax return.
Source: Washington Post