AFP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
Portions of former US President Trump’s tax returns will become publicly available. A House of Representatives committee approved it. These are the returns from 2015 to 2020.
The vote marks the tentative conclusion of a long legal battle. Trump has been trying for years to block the release of his tax returns, which is customary for US presidents.
Last month judged The Supreme Court has ordered the Treasury Department to file Trump’s tax returns with the House of Representatives committee. The Democratic-led committee wanted to know, among other things, whether there had been any conflicts of interest during Trump’s presidency and what his business empire was like.
The commission has now determined that the statements must also be made available to the public. When this will happen is not yet clear, perhaps in the coming days.
“A Terrible Precedent”
The commission was in a hurry to vote, because from January the Republicans in the House of Representatives will have the majority and this will affect the mandate of the commission. Now all 24 Democratic committee members voted to release the returns, all Republican members opposed.
Trump called the disclosure of his tax returns “unprecedented” last month. He sets a “terrible precedent for future presidents,” he said.
Income tax
Trump’s tax returns have been a hot topic in recent years. He was the first president in decades to refuse to voluntarily disclose his finances because he did not want details about his assets and business activities revealed.
In 2020 onthulde The New York Times that Trump paid very little income tax during part of his presidency and paid no taxes at all during many other years. A year earlier, the House of Representatives committee had already begun trying to gain access to Trump’s tax returns.
Other investigations
In addition to this case, there is also a civil suit for possible tax fraud against the former president and some of his relatives. Between 2011 and 2021 they allegedly exaggerated the value of their assets to obtain tax benefits.
Trump’s company is also under a magnifying glass. Earlier this month, a jury found the Trump Organization guilty of tax fraud by helping executives evade taxes. Trump himself was not on trial in this criminal investigation.
