Tag: Trump tax returns

New York Senate Passes Bill Allowing Release Of Trump’s State Taxes

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin broke the law to keep Congress from seeing Trump’s federal tax returns — but Trump’s state tax returns from New York could soon be available to Congress thanks to a bill making its way through the New York Legislature.

The New York state Senate passed a bill on Wednesday allowing state tax returns to be handed over to Congress upon request.

The New York Times reports that the bill would allow the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax return if requested for a “specific and legitimate legislative purpose” by one of three congressional committees: House Ways and Means, Senate Finance, or the Joint Committee on Taxation.

View the complete May 8 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

Dem request for Trump’s tax returns

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday formally rejected Democrats’ request for President Trump’s tax returns, setting up a likely court battle.

“I am informing you now that the Department may not lawfully fulfill the Committee’s request,” Mnuchin said in a one-page letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), adding that the request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”

Mnuchin said he made the decision while relying on the advice of the Department of Justice (DOJ). He said DOJ plans to publish its legal opinion as soon as possible.

View the complete May 6 article by Naomi Jagoda on The Hill website here.

Five things to watch in Trump tax-return fight

House Democrats this week formally requested President Trump‘s tax returns from the IRS, kicking off a new battle with the administration.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) asked for six years of both Trump’s personal tax returns and the returns of several of his business entities.

Trump, who has long said he won’t release his tax returns because he’s under audit, quickly indicated that he did not want the administration to comply with the request.

View the complete April 6 article by Naomi Jagoda on The Hill website here.

Dems formally ask for Trump’s tax returns

House Democrats have formally requested copies of President Trump’s tax returns, taking action on one of their top oversight priorities.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) sent a letter Wednesday to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig requesting six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns, from 2013-2018, by April 10.

“The IRS has a policy of auditing the tax returns of all sitting presidents and vice-presidents, yet little is known about the effectiveness of this program,” Neal said in a statement. “On behalf of the American people, the Ways and Means Committee must determine if that policy is being followed, and, if so, whether these audits are conducted fully and appropriately.”

View the complete April 3 article by Naomi Jagoda on The Hill website here.

Erik Paulsen voted to keep Trump’s tax returns a secret

Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen is paddling toward reclaiming his seat as quickly as he can, in part by promising to “stand up to” his party “and President [Donald] Trump” if push comes to shove.

Well, last month, he had his chance. He did not take it.

At issue were Trump’s tax returns, which have remained secret and are now back in the limelight. After 18 months of trawling through the Trump family’s financial dirty laundry, The New York Times published a scathing report accusing the sitting president of “dubious tax schemes” and “outright fraud,” helping his parents sidestep taxes, and undervaluing that money so he could siphon as much as possible to himself and his siblings.

A Trump lawyer has called these allegations “100 percent false.” Trump himself described the story as “a very old, boring and often told hit piece.”

View the complete October 5 article by Hannah Jones on the CityPages website here.

Putin summit puts spotlight back on Trump’s tax returns

The following article by Naomi Jagoda was posted on the Hill website July 22, 2018:

Credit: Rep. Bill Pascrell

President Trump’s tax returns are back in the spotlight after his private one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s comments during a joint press conference with Putin on Monday alarmed lawmakers, leading some to wonder about the president’s possible financial ties to Russia.

Democrats have since stepped up their calls to have Congress request Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department in order to learn more about the president’s finances.

View the complete article here.

Trump Signed Tax Returns with False Information Under Penalty of Perjury at Least 4 Times: Report

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website June 22, 2018:

The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold has been meticulously tracking the president’s finances.

Credit: Official White House by Andrea Hanks

President Donald Trump signed the Trump Foundation tax returns in four different years when they contained demonstrably false information, according to a new report by Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold.

As Fahrenthold notes, when you sign a tax return, you pledge that the information contained is accurate to the best of your knowledge under penalty of perjury. Knowingly falsifying a tax return is a felony under federal law. (Many noted that, by contrast, unauthorized border crossing is only a misdemeanor.)

The false information Farenthold reports on, which is confirmed by a recent New York attorney general lawsuit, concerns Trump’s use of his foundation to personally benefit himself, make a political donation, and to help his business. These acts are all barred under the law governing charitable foundations.