CBS News Quotes Beth Kaufman on Potential Revelations in President Trump's Tax Return

When it comes to President Donald Trump and taxpayers at his rarified income level, a tax return can deliver plenty of personal information but still lack some of the most tantalizing stuff -- their total net worth, for instance, or what real estate they own.

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Gifts—not to charity

Gift taxes, one line of inquiry used in The New York Times' recent investigation of Fred Trump's real estate empire, could be similarly fruitful for his son. Gift tax returns could, for instance, show whether Mr. Trump has given away any assets and whether he has placed any into trusts, said Beth Kaufman, an attorney at Caplin & Drysdale.

The IRS requires people to report gifts anytime they give away cash or goods valued at more than $15,000, and report it on a completely separate form from the 1040. The gift tax return is obscure enough that it's only a concern for the wealthy.

"Your run-of-the mill person never files one in their entire life; your millionaire or billionaire files one every year," Kaufman said.

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Deductions

"They're going to have to dig down into returns filed by LLCs, partnership returns. Almost none of that is copied on [Mr.] Trump's returns," Kaufman said. "I think there are going to be waves of requests to get into this."

For the full article, please visit CBS News’ website.

Excerpt taken from the article “What American Can and Can’t Learn From Trump’s Tax Returns” by Irina Ivanova for CBS News’ MoneyWatch.