No surprises in the release to the public of the six years of Donald Trump’s tax returns. Notwithstanding questionable practices regarding estimates of real estate and business valuations, gains and losses, as well as unscrupulous application of tax credits and deductions, what we see at first blush is alarming. Apparently you need a lot of money to avoid paying taxes.
It will take time and actual auditing, expert analysis and subsequent indictments to determine how and to what degree Trump cheated on his tax filings, but based on his well established history of telling whoppers, stiffing contractors, marital infidelity, misuse of campaign funds, dodging the draft, stealing classified documents and other “indiscretions,” we can be sure that all is not what he would like us to believe. Perhaps the months ahead will identify to whom he is beholden: foreign banks, Russian oligarchs or Vladimir Putin himself?
Maybe we don’t want transparency in our public officials. Maybe we prefer to subject ourselves to fairy tales told by shysters and confidence players. However, that’s not in our best interest. We should insist on legislation to make public the finances of at least the president of the United States, if not all of our elected officials. That is why every president, from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden, with the exception of Trump, has released his tax returns to public scrutiny.
Let’s make that transparency a legal requirement, not just a politically expedient practice.
— Brett Jokela
Anchorage
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