Trump’s tax returns to be placed into congressional record
Brady Knox
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Former President Donald Trump’s tax returns are set to be placed into congressional record Friday morning during a House pro forma session.
A formal announcement from the committee is also expected on Friday. The release comes nine days after the House Ways and Means Committee alleged in a report that the IRS failed to properly audit Trump’s taxes while he was in office.
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The report of the committee’s investigation into the program was released after the panel voted 24-16 to release Trump’s tax returns. In a press release about the investigation, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) levied harsh criticism against the IRS for its perceived ineffectiveness. The committee’s investigation found only a single audit performed during the Trump administration.
The House Ways and Means Committee finally obtained Trump’s tax records last month after the Supreme Court declined an emergency appeal from the former president that aimed to prevent the Internal Revenue Service from sending his returns to the committee. The committee had originally sought the records in 2019. Trump declined to disclose his tax returns during his first presidential campaign in 2016, a pattern he continued throughout his presidency. Though no law requires the president to disclose his or her tax returns, Trump refusing to do so broke with a yearslong precedent.
The records will show how much Trump paid in income, deductions, and taxes during those years. The tax returns of businesses linked to Trump will also be released along with his personal returns — all covering the years 2015-2020. They will also show his charitable donations and other financial obligations.
Though the public hasn’t seen the full tax returns yet, the committee did release its report on them, which divulged several key findings.
Trump paid $0 in federal taxes in 2015, 2016, and 2017 when he reported negative income due to major business losses. However, the Democrats’ report found that Trump was making tens of millions per year over the same period.
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His tax returns have been a major issue for the Democrats since 2016, when they alleged he was refusing to release them in order to hide shady business practices, the Independent reported. Since Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified against him in 2019, the Democrats have been eager to uncover purported criminal dealings by the former president.
The pro forma session will occur around 9 a.m. on Friday.