IRS responds to Trump tax return hoopla

It is possible, given Trump's penchant for descriptive imprecision, that when Trump said, "I can't release it while I'm under an audit" he meant something other than, "I am legally prohibited from doing so".

The Trump campaign did not respond to questions from the AP about why the IRS would be auditing his tax returns past the normal three year period. "If returns are properly prepared, the IRS typically goes away".

After a follow-up from moderator Hugh Hewitt, Trump said: "I want to release my tax returns but I can't release it while I'm under an audit".

"For many years, I've been audited every year". And because the IRS does not disclose information on audits of citizens, there's no way to confirm whether or not Trump is actually being audited.

When CNN's Chris Cuomo questioned the comment about religion, the real estate tycoon said: "Maybe because of the fact that I am a strong Christian ... you see what's happened, you have many religious groups complaining about that".

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a South Carolina Republican primary night event, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 in Spartanburg, S.C. Trump is the victor in the South Carolina Republican primary.

Trump said during the debate he has been audited every year for "twelve years or something like that".

This week, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney suggested that Trump might be hiding something by not releasing his tax returns to the public. "And luckily I'm not being audited this year, or last year for that matter".

"He's an entrepreneur", said Dan Dunn, a partner specializing in tax law with Dechert, LLP. I have rich friends who never get audited. But Thorndike said tax attorneys he’s spoken with are generally sympathetic to the desire not to make tax returns public while they’re being audited. "They would love to see a liberal like Donald Trump take over the Republican Party because they know he is easy to beat once he gets there". "Millionaires as a whole get audited more often - and are targeted more often - because they have more ups and downs, more expenses, more things to consider than others", he said. The IRS reacted to Donald Trump's tax return claims by stating they aren't holding up the billionaire's return, Huffington Post reports. Similar questions dogged Romney until late in the general election — suggesting that the focus on Trump’s taxes may not quickly abate.

"He can obviously release them if he wants to", said Daniel Shaviro, professor of taxation at New York University Law School. Overall, fewer than 1% are audited every year, although the rate is closer to 10% for tax filers with incomes over $10 million.

“If the returns are out there, then no one can hide — the taxpayer can’t hide, and the authorities can’t hide, ” Thorndike said.

Cruz, the Texas senator, has previously made his tax returns publicly available, giving his tax information from 2006 to 2010 to the Texas Tribune.