Question

In: Accounting

Should candidates running for political office be required to disclose their tax returns? Prepare at least...

Should candidates running for political office be required to disclose their tax returns? Prepare at least three points to ponder on this issue.

Solutions

Expert Solution

My opinion is that candidates running for political office should be required to disclose their tax returns.

Three points to ponder on this issue are:

1. For the reason of transparency voters have an implicit right to know how much a candidate is paying in taxes, how much has he given to charities, and what are the credits and deductions being claimed by that candidate.

2. Analyzing the tax returns of the political candidates will make the public more informed and they will be able to determine if any potential conflicts of interest exist in case of a candidate.

3. Financial dealings of a candidate can serve as a framework to analyze and determine the kind of person that candidate is and this can be done by looking at the tax returns which helps to answer questions about a candidate like – does the candidate pay taxes? What does the candidate own? What has the candidate borrowed? Has the candidate taken advantage of any tax loopholes? etc. This will help the people make a better decision and empower them to select their candidate of choice in an optimal manner.


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