Show Us Trump's Tax Returns!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The House Ways and Means Committee, one of the more important sub-units of Congress, will meet today, apparently with the aim of reviewing six years of Donald Trump's tax returns, documents that have recently come into its possession after protracted legal moves by Trump to keep them from getting the returns were ultimately met with defeat at the US Supreme Court.  The committee, which is currently under the control of the House Democratic majority, has exactly two weeks to do what it will with regard to those tax returns - because two weeks from today control of the US House of Representatives will be taken over by the new Republican majority.

The press, public, and political world have been trying to get a look at Trump's tax returns ever since he  announced his first run for the presidency in 2016, but the wily politician refused take part in a long tradition of presidential candidates of releasing tax returns.  Trump, who liked to strike a pose as a successful businessman, said that his taxes were under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and that he therefore could not release them - though the IRS stated that it had no problem with Trump sharing his tax information with the general public.

A release of tax information by candidate Trump would have served three important purposes.  First, having never sought or served in a political office before, Trump was largely running on his record as a successful businessman, and what better way to show success in business than with a tax record that could measure that success in a metric that everyone could understand:  dollars and cents.   Second, a thorough examination of his taxes would have served to show indebtedness to foreign governments and individuals, something that could impair a presidency and ultimately endanger national security.  And, third, an examination of tax returns for a presidential candidate or a sitting president could reveal conflicts and potential benefits from proposed legislation - such as the massive tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest corporations and individuals in 2017.

Trump did pose one reveal regarding his tax history during the 2016 debates.  He said that he paid no taxes for several years because his was "smart."  During the first year of his presidency he also said that he would not benefit personally from the massive 2017 tax cut for  the wealthy - and he asked Americans to take him at his word on that.

News articles published in 2020 and based in part on family financial information obtained from a Trump relative indicated that he paid only $750 in total income taxes in 2017 and 2018, and paid no income taxes at all in ten of the last fifteen years due to business losses.  New York Attorney General Leticia James is currently pursuing fraud allegations against Trump and his companies based on claims that he adjusted valuations on his properties based on whether he was using them to obtain loans - in which case valuations were increased, or using them to show losses on his taxes - in which case valuations were lowered.

But Trump successfully fought release of his taxes during the 2016 election cycle, through all four years of his presidency, and on through the first two years of his post-presidency.  Now, finally, six years worth of Trump tax records are under the control of a House committee, and some of his tax records are also in the possession of prosecutors in New York.   But through it all, average American citizens, the people charged with the responsibility of electing the Presidents of the United States, still have not had the opportunity to see Donald Trump's tax returns - to judge for themselves his actual skills as a businessman - his possible indebtedness to Russian oligarchs and politicians, or Saudi princes - and the extent to which he could have personally benefitted off of legislation that he proposed and signed.

But that serious affront to democracy could be corrected today when the House Ways and Means Committee meets to discuss Trump's tax returns.  One thing the committee could do today is to release those returns to the public - before the incoming Congress quickly removes them from the public's reach in two weeks.  Trump seems to be concerned that the committee may do just that.  This weekend he released a statement stating his belief that it is illegal to release other people's tax returns.

There is no word as to whether he was served cheese with that whine or not.

The people who write and enact America's laws - and her tax codes - should be required to demonstrate their fidelity to our laws and our tax codes.  It should not up for debate.

Ways and Means, be tough and do your stuff - show us the Trump tax returns!