Donald Trump and the Audit Canard

At the first presidential debate, Donald Trump repeated the line that an IRS audit is the reason that he has refused to release his tax returns to the public. Trump has repeated this line throughout his campaign. When he was under pressure during the Republican primary in February, Trump tweeted, “Tax experts throughout the media agree that no sane person would give their tax returns during an audit. After the audit, no problem!” It is a line that has served him well as it remains largely unquestioned.

However, the audit excuse is pure hogwash. Indeed, the absurdity of the claim is only surpassed by the ludicrousness of the claim that Trump will release his tax returns after the audit is completed.