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Public Citizen Calls on Ways and Means Subcommittee to Obtain Trump’s Tax Returns

Feb. 7, 2019

Public Citizen Calls on Ways and Means Subcommittee to Obtain Trump’s Tax Returns 

Statements of Public Citizen experts

Note: The U.S. House Ways & Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight today is considering legislative proposals and tax law related to the release of presidential and vice presidential tax returns. A provision of the For the People Act (H.R. 1), the most sweeping pro-democracy and anti-corruption legislation of the past 50 years, includes a requirement for disclosure of 10 years of tax returns of presidential and vice presidential candidates and officeholders. Public Citizen’s Susan Harley and Lisa Gilbert submitted written testimony to the committee in support of the legislation and the use of the committee’s power under Section 6103(f) of the tax code to obtain the president’s tax returns from the U.S. Treasury Department.

“Public Citizen has called for the release of Donald Trump’s tax returns since he first announced his candidacy for office. Given the huge interconnected web of businesses owned by the president, it remains impossible to track his abundant conflicts of interest without access to his tax returns. While we wholeheartedly support legislation that would collect this information moving forward, it is critical for the Ways & Means Committee to use its authority now to seek these returns independently.”

-Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs, Public Citizen

“Americans all across the country have marched in their communities, signed petitions or made calls to their lawmakers demanding that Trump’s tax returns be released. Since the Ways & Means Committee already has the power to request the tax returns of any taxpayer – including the president – there’s no need to wait for passage of H.R. 1 to act. Congress must not delay and should act now to obtain the tax information it needs to better protect our democracy against the glaring conflicts of interest that plague the current presidency.”

-Susan Harley, deputy director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division