The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives committee released former President Donald Trump’s six-year tax returns to the public on Friday in an unusual move just days before Republicans were expected to return. take control of the lower house.
The release of Trump’s redacted tax returns from 2015 to 2020 covers a nearly four-year battle between the former Republican president and newly-elected Democratic lawmakers by the Supreme Court. United States settled last month.
It is the latest blow to Trump, 76, who has been impeached twice by the Democratic-controlled House and acquitted by the Senate twice, and now faces many legal woes as he proceeds to bid for re-election in 2024.
Earlier this month, the House committee investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. ask federal prosecutors charged him with four counts, including obstruction and sedition, for his role in the deadly riot.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal requested the tax returns in 2019, arguing that Congress needed them to determine if the law on presidential tax returns was warranted.
Republicans said the move could lead to the political weaponization of individual tax returns and warned that party members taking over the council next month would face pressure to pursue a similar path. against prominent Democrats.
Trump, who took office in 2017, is the first presidential candidate in decades not to release his taxes. He waged a legal battle to keep them a secret while he was in the White House. But the Supreme Court ruled last month that he must hand them over to the Commission on Ways and Means of Writing Taxes.
In a report last week, the committee outlined findings from an examination of the documents, saying that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) violated its own rules by failing to audit Trump on three out of four occasions. years when he was president.
The IRS only began examining Trump’s 2016 tax records on April 3, 2019 – more than two years into his presidency – when the committee chairman, Representative Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat , requesting the agency to provide information related to tax returns.
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the White House, said that by comparison, there have been audits of President Joe Biden for the 2020 and 2021 tax years. A spokesman for former President Barack Obama said Mr. audit in every 8 years in office.
A report from Congress’s nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation offered several warning signs about aspects of Trump’s tax filings, including his transfer losses, federal deductions, and tax returns. related to conservation and charitable contributions, and loans to his children may be taxable gifts.
Details previously released by the panel showed Trump paid no income tax in 2020, his final year in office, despite earning millions from his vast business empire.
The filings show that Trump’s income and tax obligations fluctuated significantly from 2015 to 2020, during his first and subsequent presidential run. They show Trump and his wife Melania Trump claimed large deductions and losses and paid little or no income tax during some of those years.
The profits are likely to provide the clearest picture of Trump’s finances during his time in office.
Trump, known for building skyscrapers and hosting a reality TV show before winning the White House, gave limited details about his holdings and earnings on the platforms. required disclosure form. He has featured his wealth in the annual financial statements he provides to banks to secure loans and to financial journals to secure his spot in the rankings. world billionaires.
Since then, Trump’s longtime accounting firm has denied the claims, and New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit alleging Trump and his Trump Organization inflated asset values on the claims. as part of a multi-year scam. Trump and his company have denied any wrongdoing.
The Trump Organization was convicted earlier this month of separate tax fraud charges for helping several executives evade taxes on company-paid perks, such as apartments and luxury cars. .
Democrats are having a hard time figuring out how to process the refunds once they receive them, as Republicans will take control of the House on Tuesday after winning a majority. fragile in the midterm elections in November.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill before leaving for winter break that would require the IRS to complete an audit of presidents’ tax records within 90 days of their inauguration.
