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Trump on his tax rate: ‘None of your business’

Posted at 10:39 AM, May 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-13 10:39:22-04

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump maintains he’ll release his tax returns eventually — but until then?

“None of your business.”

That was Trump’s answer to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America” on Friday when the show host asked what the mogul’s tax rate is.

“It’s none of your business, you’ll see it when I release. But I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible,” Trump said.

Stephanopoulos pressed Trump on why he has said he won’t release his tax returns until audits of them are complete, since he has previously released them for a casino deal under similar circumstances and since the IRS says nothing precludes someone under audit from disclosing their returns.

Stephanopoulos also asked Trump if the presumptive GOP nominee believes the American people have a right to see his tax returns.

“I don’t think they do, but I do say this: I will really gladly give them. They’re not going to learn anything, but it’s under routine audit,” Trump said. “You learn very little from tax returns.”

The ABC host then noted that there is a lot that can be learned from returns, including the effective tax rate, business holdings and offshore accounts.

“I’ll tell you right now: I do not. I don’t have Swiss bank accounts, I don’t have offshore, I have a very, very clean company,” Trump said. “I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible, and I’ve said that for the last two years … this country wastes our money.”

He said he would like the audit to wrap up before November so he can release the returns. “I hope it’s before the election,” Trump said.

And as for why he released his returns in his past casino bid, Trump said circumstances changed.

“Because at the time it didn’t make any difference to me, now it does,” Trump said.