President-elect Donald Trump keeps saying no one is interested in his tax returns besides the media, but an ABC-Washington Post poll says otherwise.
The poll conducted by Langer Research Associates and released Monday indicates 74 percent of Americans think Trump should release his tax returns, including 49 percent of Republicans, 94 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of those with other or no party affiliations. That’s up from the 60 percent of Americans who said they thought he should release his returns in a Pew Research Center poll Jan. 4-9.
Among Trump supporters, the Post-ABC poll indicated 58 percent of white men without a college degree said he should release his returns, along with 81 percent of college-educated white women and 88 percent of nonwhites. In red states, 69 percent said he should release his returns as did 81 percent of those queried in blue states.
The poll surveyed 1,005 adults Jan. 12-15 and has a 3.5 point margin of error.
VIDEO: Pew Study Finds 60% of Americans Think Trump Has Responsibility to Disclose Tax Returns
Trump has justified withholding his tax returns by saying he is under audit and at his news conference last week rejected the notion he should release them, saying, “The only one that cares about my tax returns are the reporters.” Asked whether he thought the American public is interested, he added, “No I don’t think so. I won, when I became president. No, I don’t think they care at all. I don’t think they care at all.”
The president-elect maintains little can be learned from his returns, despite questions about his business dealings in Russia.
Experts say the returns could reveal conflicts of interest, how much money he gives to charity and his effective tax rate. Tax returns detail sources of income, deductions and overseas income, among other details. Releasing the returns also would allow people to determine how Trump’s tax proposals would affect him personally.
Trump was the first presidential candidate in four decades to decline to release his returns.
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