February 12, 2019 by donal brown
Republicans are arguing that if the House Ways and Means committee succeeds in obtaining President Donald Trump’s tax records, it could lead to demands for the release of tax records for members of Congress, political donors, etc. Eric Levitz in New York Magazine, February 8, 2019, argues that much public good can be derived from making the tax records of all Americans public. “Beyond exposing conflicts of interest,” write Levitz, “making all tax information publicly available is a cheap and easy way to increase compliance, as individuals who game their taxes will be susceptible to public shame. And such a policy would also help expose wage discrimination, and increase public awareness of inequities in the tax system; as the American people’s ubiquitous fascination with the private lives of celebrities has led them to peruse the finances of the rich and famous, many would notice for the first time just how profoundly regressive various tax loopholes are.”
Trump plans to stymie House Democrats in their quest for his tax records by contending that the Democrats would leak the tax information so should not be trusted with it. And although Internal Revenue law allows congressional committees to request the tax returns of any individual, it is a felony for any federal employee to leak tax information. (Politico, February 5, 2019, by Nancy Cook)
For prior FAC coverage on Trump taxes click here.