In short, Trump's financial disclosure is nice. His tax returns -- which he became the first presidential candidate in four decades to refuse to release -- would be far better.<\/p>\n
Trump's wealth, as documented in the report, is vast. He took in hundreds of millions of dollars in income over the past 15 months while carrying liabilities north of $300 million. (The Post estimated that Trump's assets are worth at least $1.4 billion.)<\/p>\n
Trump raked in $288 million from his golf courses alone; he made at least $37 million from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort and a frequent weekend stomping ground for the first family.<\/p>\n
The big problem with financial disclosure forms is that they only require ranges of assets and liability -- making it extremely difficult to get an accurate sense of what Trump true's wealth is. <\/p>\n
\"Overall, Trump reported liabilities of at least $311 million -- mortgages and loans. But the number could be much higher because he was required only to report a range in value for each loan.\" <\/p>\n
\"Of the 16 loans he reported, five were worth more than $50 million each; one is worth between $25 million and $50 million; and seven were worth between $5 million and $25 million apiece. Another three loans combined were worth less than $1 million.\" <\/p>\n
All of which makes the rhetoric coming from Trump and his top aides regarding his level of transparency about his finances misleading. <\/p>\n
That isn't accurate. But you can bet that Trump's decision to voluntarily file his financial disclosure forms months ahead of time will become a new talking point for Trump and his aides whenever the questions regarding his taxes inevitably arise again. <\/p>\n
The key point to remember: Financial disclosures are simply no substitute for tax returns when it comes to understanding someone's financial standing and various commitments. <\/p>\n
Think of it this way. You go to a baseball game. Financial disclosure forms are like sitting near the top of the upper deck. You can see a baseball game is going on but it's tough to make out the individual players or figure out what pitch the pitcher is throwing. Tax returns are like having front-row seats behind home plate. You can see the reaction on the batter's face when he disagrees with a call. You can see how the teams interact -- both with each other and amongst themselves. You can hear the pop of the fastball hitting the catcher's mitt. <\/p>\n
It's an entirely different game and experience. <\/p>\n
Right now, the American public is sitting way up in the rafters of Trump Financial Stadium. You have a vague sense of what's going on. But unless and until he releases his tax returns -- BREAKING: He probably won't! -- we'll all be squinting to try to figure out exactly what we're looking at. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See more here:<\/p>\n
Why we still really need to see Donald Trump's tax returns - CNN<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In short, Trump's financial disclosure is nice. His tax returns -- which he became the first presidential candidate in four decades to refuse to release -- would be far better. Trump's wealth, as documented in the report, is vast. Continue reading