Prominent California Democrats Demand That Trump Reveal Tax Returns
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Just because Hillary Clinton is almost sure to carry California in the presidential election, that's not stopping her supporters in San Francisco from talking smack about Donald Trump.
On Sunday the topic was taxes.
Donald Trump defies political tradition on an almost-daily basis and he has incensed his Democratic opponents by not releasing his tax returns. On Sunday, a pair of CPAs -- who also happen to be Clinton loyalists -- called on Trump to reveal his personal financial information.
"Every major presidential candidate for the past 48 years has released their tax returns. That is a tradition," noted Fiona Ma, chairwoman of the State Board of Equalization.
"Every taxpayer has the right to keep their tax return private but not every taxpayer is running to be president of the United States," added Hilary Crosby, California Democratic Party Comptroller.
Tax returns can reveal a lot about a person, from charitable contributions to business relationships.
"The public has a right to know what type of interests -- potential conflicts of interest and priorities -- that our next president may or may not have," Ma said.
And while most here are willing to forgive Hillary Clinton for wanting to keep her e-mails from public view, they are calling on her opponent to be more transparent in his dealings.
"When you step up to serve our country in that capacity, you actually have to let go of some of the privileges of privacy that the rest of us enjoy," Crosby insisted.
And while Democrats are demanding to get a look at Donald Trump's tax figures, the most important number may be 72 -- the number of days left before the election.
