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About Trump and tax evasion row

For Clinton's campaign it was important to present this leakage as a scoop, which may ruin Trump chances for presidency. The move was quite technological: The New York Times as the source, the documents allegedly leaked by an insider from Trump's inner circle.

A large number of comments was designed to discredit Trump if not in the eyes of supporters but surely in the eyes of the undecided voter.

On the other hand, there was nothing really new about this scandal. The US tax system is an American pet peeve. The view that it is unfair, deliberately confusing and complicated is common place. It's everybody's pain in the neck, and, in a sense, everyone who is capable of effectively optimizing their taxes, can quite clearly and convincingly explain his actions.

Another thing is that many US citizens also believe that the tax system in their country has been purposefully built to make the working people pay a lot of taxes while the rich could use every loophole. The story of Trump's multi-million losses in mid-90s is a classic example of what is causing the greatest irritation among ordinary Americans. A doctor, hairdresser, or worker cannot use this scheme to avoid taxed and has to pay up in full, while the likes of Trump can.

So voters, even Trump-oriented, are unlikely to applaud such dodges. In that sense, the efforts of Donald's team members like Giuliani to convince the public that the tax evasion was an evidence of the business acumen of their presidential runner, is not quite working. If not working at a loss.

On the other hand, the fact that Trump is immediately engaging in counterattack rather than offering excuses is very laudable. The scandal provides an excellent opportunity for a spin to start a debate about the fairness of the tax system for US salaried workers and businessmen, who are forced in the interests of their businesses and employees to seek for loopholes in the legislation and ensure profitability and create new jobs. Which once again would confirm one of Trump's main theses of the fraudulent nature of the system and the establishment that imposes such laws to society.

Interestingly, back in 2012, Mitt Romney gladly opened his declaration to the public and it turned out that he has paid taxes even more than he was supposed to. Romney PR people built up an image of a responsible politician and citizen, who has wilfully gave his country more money than he had to. It was a very important case in his campaign, but it did not help Romney win the race.

Yevhen KurmashovYevhen Kurmashov, Director of political programmes, Gorshenin Institute
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