- The Ways and Means Committee voted to release a summary of Trump’s tax returns between 2015 and 2021.
- The move could lead to more unwanted scrutiny for the former president.
- The committee says the IRS failed to audit Trump’s tax returns for three of his four years in office.
WASHINGTON: A committee of the US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to partially re-release tax filings. Former President Donald Trump has said that tax officials have failed to audit his returns while in office.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted to release Trump’s summary. Tax returns Between 2015 and 2021, the years he was running for president and serving in the White House, panel members said.
That could lead to more unwanted scrutiny for the former president as he makes another White House bid.
But the committee also said the U.S. Internal Revenue Service failed to follow its own rules when it failed to audit Trump’s tax returns during three of his four years in office. Members said Congress should pass legislation to strengthen the presidential audit program.
“What people will be surprised about is the extent to which the IRS was not following its own rules,” Democratic Representative Dan Kildee told reporters.
The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Committee Chairman Richard Neal, a Democrat, said a revised summary of Trump’s tax returns would be released within days. Democrats have little time to act, as Republicans are slated to take control of the House in January.
It was unclear whether the material would shed light on potential conflicts between Trump’s real estate holdings and his actions as president, or how much he paid in taxes on the hundreds of millions of dollars he earned from his businesses while president. Lawmakers said the withdrawal was scant on details.
“I think you’d be surprised how little there is,” Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett told CNN.
Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the panel, told reporters that some of those returns are still being audited, so it’s unclear how much tax Trump owes. Like other committee Republicans, they voted against his release on the grounds that it could set a bad precedent.
Two reports will be released later Tuesday night, committee members said, one from the committee itself and one from the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan body that analyzes the impact of tax provisions in legislation. Committee members said Tuesday night that they will include the original request for Trump’s tax returns, audit notices and a memo from Neal aimed at legislative proposals to enact the presidential audit program.
Trump, unlike previous presidential candidates, has refused to release his tax returns as he has sought to keep details of his wealth and the activities of his real estate company, the Trump Organization, secret, and efforts by Democrats to access them. Coped with
Trump has said he cannot release his tax returns because they are being audited by the IRS. Tax experts have said that this is not a valid excuse.
Neal declined to comment on whether Trump was being truthful.
Candidates are not required by law to release their tax returns, but former presidential candidates of both parties have done so voluntarily for decades.
Democrats on the committee said they needed to see records to determine whether the Internal Revenue Service is properly auditing presidential tax returns, and to assess whether new legislation is needed.
Another House committee on Monday asked federal prosecutors to prosecute Trump for instigating a capital attack in January. 6, 2021. Republicans are expected to disband or redirect the panel when they take control of the chamber.
Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has taken huge losses to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in income from his businesses over the years, according to media reporting on his finances and trial testimony. Reported. This allowed him to pay very little tax.
The Trump Organization was indicted in December. 6 for carrying out a 15-year criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities in New York. The company faces up to $1.6 million in fines, although Trump himself is not personally liable. He has said the case was politically motivated and the company plans to appeal.
He also faces a separate fraud lawsuit in New York accusing him of artificially inflating the value of his assets.
During his presidency, he faced constant questions about conflicts of interest, as foreign dignitaries and Republican Party officials spent money at his luxury hotels.