The Register's Editorial

For decades, Donald Trump has been one of America's biggest TMI offenders, eagerly sharing with the public the details of past sexual conquests, his appreciation for the female form and all sort of indiscretions best filed under the heading “too much information.”

Even as a candidate for president, Trump is perfectly willing to stand behind a podium at a nationally televised debate and discuss his alleged anatomical attributes. (On this particular “issue,” we’ll happily set aside the traditional rule of “Trust, but verify,” and take Trump at his word that he has “no problem” in this department.)

Now, however, a topic has been raised that Trump doesn’t want to discuss: his personal income taxes.

As Trump knows, every presidential nominee of both parties since 1972 has made public his tax returns — and for good reason. The documents show whether or not a candidate has paid his or her fair share of taxes or has financial conflicts of interest that deserve to be examined. The returns could answer such relevant questions as: What is the extent of Trump's global operations? Has he used tax havens or shell companies? Has he been as charitable as he's claimed?

But Trump has yet to disclose his tax returns, and his constantly evolving explanations for this refusal are as varied as they are without merit.

In February 2015, Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he had “no objection” to releasing his returns.

CNN subsequently reported that Trump planned to release the tax returns before the Aug. 6 GOP presidential debate. But then Trump backed off, telling CBS that while he had “no major problem” disclosing the returns, he was inclined to tie their release to the “release of Hillary’s emails” — a reference to the communications Clinton maintained on a private server while secretary of state.

But even when the State Department began releasing thousands of Clinton emails, Trump kept his tax returns under wraps.

Exclusive: More than 100 lawsuits, disputes, tied to Trump and his companies

In January of this year, shortly before the Iowa caucuses, Trump said, “I have very big returns, as you know, and I have everything all approved and very beautiful and we’ll be working on that over the next period of time,” he said.

A month later, speaking to Hewitt again, Trump hedged, saying he’d release his tax returns “at some point, probably.” Two days later, during a televised debate, he said he couldn’t release his tax returns because he has been audited every year for the last 12 years, having been targeted by the IRS because he is a “strong Christian.”

Then, on last week’s “Good Morning America,” Trump muddied the waters even further with yet another fragmented, contradictory explanation of his intent: “I will really gladly give them, not going to learn anything, but it’s under routine audit, when the audit ends I’m gonna present them. That should be before the election. I hope it’s before the election.”

Trump was then asked what his tax rate was. “None of your business,” he replied.

Consider that response in conjunction with his 2015 boast that he pays as few taxes as possible:

“I pay as little as possible,” he said on a “Face The Nation” broadcast. “I fight like hell to pay as little as possible, for two reasons. Number one, I’m a business man, and that’s the way you’re supposed to do it. And you put the money back into your company and employees and all of that. But the other reason is I hate the way our government spends our taxes.”

Trump supporters, including those who believe all taxes are nothing but a confiscation of private wealth, applaud that sort of reasoning. They like the idea that Trump is sticking it to the man and using every loophole at his disposal.

Contrast that line of thinking with the storm of public outrage in 1973 when it was revealed that President Richard Nixon had paid less than $6,000 on income of $790,000. It was the controversy over his tax bill — not the simmering Watergate scandal — that gave rise to Nixon’s infamous declaration: “The people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook.”

Ultimately, the IRS came to a different conclusion, ruling that the president had, in fact, underpaid his taxes to the tune of $465,000.

In Nixon’s time, the American public may not have been happy about paying taxes, but they treated it as a civic duty. Those who would use their considerable wealth and power and, to use Trump’s words, “fight like hell to pay as little as possible” were not viewed kindly.

A different president, Franklin Roosevelt, said “one sure way to determine the social conscience of an individual is to get his tax reaction. Taxes, after all, are the dues we pay for the privilege of membership in an organized society. … But I am afraid we have many who still do not recognize their advantages and want to avoid paying their dues.”

So what is Trump’s social conscience? And what exactly is it that he’s trying to keep secret by refusing to make public his "very big" and "very beautiful" tax returns?

Nixon was right: The people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. The people also have a right to know whether a billionaire running for president has paid his fair share of taxes.