House committee to release excerpts from Trump’s tax returns

A House committee voted to publish former President Donald Trump’s tax returns in partial bills, saying that the tax authorities did not properly review his returns when he was president.

A House committee voted to release a summary of Trump’s tax returns filed from 2015-2021 when he ran for president and worked in the White House, committee members said.

This could lead to even more scrutiny for the former president, who plans to run again for the White House.

The committee also noted that the IRS did not follow its own rules when it failed to audit Trump’s tax returns during three of his four years in office. Committee members said Congress should pass legislation to strengthen the president’s audit program.

The committee chairman, Democrat Richard Neal, said a summary of Trump’s tax returns would be released with bills of sale within days. Democrats have little time left as Republicans take control of the House in January.

It is unclear whether the material will shed light on potential conflicts of interest between Trump’s real estate assets and his actions as president. It’s also unclear whether they will clarify how much tax he paid on the hundreds of millions of dollars his business earned when he was president. Lawmakers say the declarations provide few details.

“I think you’d be surprised how little information there is,” Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett told CNN.

Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the committee, told reporters that some of those returns are still being audited, so it’s unclear how much tax Trump has to pay. Like other Republicans on the committee, he voted against publication on the grounds that it could set a bad precedent.

Unlike previous presidential candidates, Trump has refused to release his tax returns in an effort to keep details of his fortune and the operations of his real estate management company, the Trump Organization, secret.

Trump has said he cannot release his returns because they are being audited by the IRS. Tax experts said that could not be considered an excuse.
Presidential candidates are not required to publish their returns, but the vast majority of them have voluntarily followed this practice for several decades.

Democrats on the committee said they needed to see the documents to see if the IRS was properly checking presidents’ returns and to assess the need for new legislation.