Do sitting presidents have to release tax returns?

But one thing the country still may learn nothing about are Trump’s tax returns. Presidents are under no legal obligation to release their tax returns. But every president since Richard Nixon has done so while in office as part of a tradition of financial transparency, according to tax historian Joe Thorndike. read more

Like all other citizens, U.S. presidents enjoy this protection of their privacy. Since the early 1970s, however, most presidents have chosen to release their returns publicly. In the hope of making this information more widely available, the Tax History Project at Tax Analysts has compiled an archive of presidential tax returns. read more

Though presidents and most presidential candidates have chosen to release their tax returns for the sake of financial transparency, there is no legal obligation to do so. In fact, the possibility of legal recourse against Trump is more likely if he does release his tax returns. read more