NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two out of three Americans want to see President Donald Trump’s income taxes, and about half believe he has been withholding them for reasons that could harm him politically, according to a Reuters / Ipsos public opinion poll. .
United States President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, USA, July 14, 2020. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
The July 13-14 poll shows many Americans remain concerned about Trump’s finances and potential conflicts of interest with his family business. The poll was conducted after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s financial records last week likely postponed his release to New York City prosecutors until after the Nov. 3 election.
Trump has refused to show the public his personal tax returns for years, breaking a decades-long tradition of financial transparency among presidential contenders. The businessman-turned-politician routinely questioned the public’s interest in his taxes and said he would not release them because they are under audit.
The poll found that 66% of adults agreed that Trump “should publish his tax returns from previous years,” and 68% said that “Americans have the right to see the financial records of each presidential candidate before the elections”.
When asked why the Republican president has not released the records, about half said it was for reasons that could make reelection difficult for him.
According to the survey, 26% said they believe Trump’s taxes contain “incriminating evidence against him,” and 10% said Trump “is trying to hide significant financial losses.” Another 16% said they thought Trump does not want to reveal them because “he doesn’t pay taxes.”
14% said they thought Trump was simply rejecting liberals, and 3% said Trump has not released his taxes because he is too busy dealing with the coronavirus.
Only 7% said Trump was withholding his taxes because they are being audited.
“This is an issue that was litigated before voters in 2016 and the American people elected President Donald Trump of the United States,” said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh.
“He released more than 100 pages of financial documents in that election. It is no secret that President Trump is a wealthy man who was successful in business before leaving him to serve the American people. ”
Joe Biden, the alleged Democratic presidential candidate, has published several years of financial statements and tax returns on his campaign website.
With less than four months to go before the election, Trump beats Biden by 10 percentage points among voters registered in the latest poll.
About 40% of respondents said they approve of Trump’s overall job performance, a level that has been consistent for the past year, even amid turmoil from the Trump indictment, a deadly pandemic, and a recession.
Trump’s popularity is comparable to his immediate predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, at roughly the same point as his presidency. Unlike Trump, Obama consistently garnered higher levels of support among registered voters than his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.
The Reuters / Ipsos survey was conducted online, in English, across the United States. It collected responses from 1,115 American adults and has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of approximately 3 percentage points.
Report by Chris Kahn; Editing by Leslie Adler
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