Romney was chastised by the Press for his tax returns and his large wealth was turned against him. Trump wasn't going to let the Press find more ways to attack his wealth. It's likely you will never see a Republican with substantial means release their tax returns ever again. The U.S. tax code was and is still extremely complicated. As a business person, I for one don't want to hear MSNBC and CNN break down some one's tax returns.
For me, it's very simple. You either file your taxes within the law or you don't. We have intense scrutiny by the IRS to ensure you stay within the law. You can now see Mueller tearing up Manafort for tax fraud. That proves the point further. If you think Trump's tax returns will unlock some deep and nefarious connection to the Russians, Mueller is on it. If you want Rachel Maddow using all sorts of charts to draw inane, speculative connections between this offshore investment and this European bank with ties to some Russian company in the hands of a Russian oligarch who is friendly with Putin, then you must absolutely have these tax returns. That kind of conspiracy conjecture isn't good for our Republic. Most people are too emotional and/or lacking intelligence to understand that's entertainment.
Me thinks "Whataboutism" doesn't apply to a situation where Trump hasn't violated any laws or codes and his opponents are simply annoyed by his action. It's just a discussion point. For that matter, it's just a discussion point to note that most major democracies don't see the need to require politicians to release their tax returns. Certainly in a move designed to gain politicial points, some of Canada's NDP leaders released their tax returns. So there is your nugget of wisdom buried in Manitoba's NDP party's actions. It's up to the voters to decide to penalize and reward politicians for filing their taxes or not filing.
For me, it's very simple. You either file your taxes within the law or you don't. We have intense scrutiny by the IRS to ensure you stay within the law. You can now see Mueller tearing up Manafort for tax fraud. That proves the point further. If you think Trump's tax returns will unlock some deep and nefarious connection to the Russians, Mueller is on it. If you want Rachel Maddow using all sorts of charts to draw inane, speculative connections between this offshore investment and this European bank with ties to some Russian company in the hands of a Russian oligarch who is friendly with Putin, then you must absolutely have these tax returns. That kind of conspiracy conjecture isn't good for our Republic. Most people are too emotional and/or lacking intelligence to understand that's entertainment.
Me thinks "Whataboutism" doesn't apply to a situation where Trump hasn't violated any laws or codes and his opponents are simply annoyed by his action. It's just a discussion point. For that matter, it's just a discussion point to note that most major democracies don't see the need to require politicians to release their tax returns. Certainly in a move designed to gain politicial points, some of Canada's NDP leaders released their tax returns. So there is your nugget of wisdom buried in Manitoba's NDP party's actions. It's up to the voters to decide to penalize and reward politicians for filing their taxes or not filing.