Trump Personal Taxes: President Falsely Claims 'People Don't Care' That He Doesn't Make Taxes Public

Since announcing his candidacy in 2015, Donald Trump’s personal taxes have been open to much discussion by his opponents and pundits. After Democrats took the House in 2018, there has been a renewed focus on looking into Trump’s finances that he hasn’t been keen on sharing.

On Wednesday, Trump said he would not share six years of personal and business tax returns with the House Ways and Means Committee. This was the same day that the committee had set as the deadline for him to turn over his financial reports.

"There is no law, as you know, I got elected last time with the same issue and while I'm under audit, I won't do it. If I'm not under audit, I would do it, I have no problem with it, but while I'm under audit, I would not give my taxes," Trump told reporters.

While every presidential candidate in modern history has released their taxes, Trump is correct that there is no law requiring a president or presidential hopeful to publicly release their tax forms.

CNN on Wednesday explained that most tax attorneys advise against releasing tax returns while under audit, since it can result in further scrutiny.

Trump also defended his position by saying "frankly, the people don't care," pointing to his 2016 win while under the same audit claim and releasing a summary of values and assets.

However, polls prove otherwise.

According to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Wednesday of 1,992 registered voters, 51% of registered voters support Democrat efforts to obtain Trump's taxes, while 36% do not. Among independent voters, 46% support Democrat efforts to obtain the president's taxes compared to 34% that do not.

The recent poll results are mostly consistent with past results.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Jan. 27 showed that 60% of Americans supported Democrat efforts to obtain and release Trump's taxes compared to 35% that did not, while a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll in December showed that 63% of registered voters felt Democrats should be allowed to publicize the president’s tax returns, compared to 37% that did not.

Trump and his staff have made past statements about the public being apathetic about his personal taxes.

"The only one that cares about my tax returns are the reporters,” Trump said at a press conference on Jan. 11, 2017.

"The White House response is he's not going to release his tax returns," White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, said 11 days later, on ABC's "This Week."

Conway added: "We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care."

Some Republican lawmakers disagree. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who sought the GOP nomination in 2016, said Thursday that "everybody" running for president in 2020 should release their tax returns.