Are things starting to fall apart for Donald Trump? Possibly, as the US House Ways and Means Committee voted this week to release the former president’s tax returns in the next few days, while also taking shots at the IRS for failing to properly audit his taxes while he was in office!
Trump broke decades of precedent as a presidential candidate in 2016 when he refused to release his tax forms to the public. And now the committee has voted to release the records for public viewing, the 76-year-old twice-impeached former president could be in big trouble!
Breaking news: House committee votes to make Donald Trump’s tax returns public. The 24-16 vote capped a protracted legal battle pitting Democrats against Trump, who falsely claimed he couldn’t release his taxes while he was under an IRS “routine audit.” https://t.co/7Ex8MSp1I3
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 21, 2022
What We Know About The Committee’s Decision
The committee voted 24-16 in favor (with all Republicans on the panel opposed) of releasing the records on Tuesday, December 20th in a closed-door session. Following the November midterm elections, the House of Representatives is set to shift to Republican control in January, so many saw this as the last chance for the Democratic-led group to address the issue. And you can see why, as Republicans are not pleased with the decision and have blasted the Democrats for what could follow. “We urge Democrats to turn back while they still can,” said Texas Republican Representative Kevin Brady. “If they make private tax information public today, it will be a regrettable stain on this committee and Congress, and will make American politics even more divisive and disheartening.”
Brady also warned that the Democrats were about to unleash the power “to target and make public the tax returns of private citizens, political enemies, business and labor leaders, or even the Supreme Court justices themselves. No party in Congress should hold that power.” He added: “It is the power to embarrass, harass, or destroy a private citizen through disclosure of their tax returns. After nearly half a century, the political enemies list is back in Washington, D.C. And we worry this will unleash a cycle of political retribution in Congress.”
“No party in Congress should hold that power. Nor any individual. It is the power to embarrass, harass or destroy a private citizen through disclosure of their tax returns.”
— Rep. Kevin Brady (@RepKevinBrady) December 21, 2022
Richard Neal, Springfield Democrat and the committee chair maintains that “this is about the presidency, not the president,” and has proposed a new bill off the back of this investigation that would require the IRS to launch an audit of the president’s tax returns within 90 days of inauguration, rather than the two years it took for the IRS to start looking into Trump’s taxes. Not only would the president be required to submit the necessary documents, but the IRS would be required to make them public. “This takes care of ending any potential confusion or chicanery as it relates to the audit program,” Neal said.
After a years-long legal battle over President Donald Trump’s tax returns, a House Committee report released Wednesday revealed he paid $1.1 million during his presidency, but $0 in 2020. https://t.co/tD42RMQbAZ pic.twitter.com/Cjzy7aKrml
— Forbes (@Forbes) December 23, 2022
What We Already Know About Trump’s Taxes
It’s not clear yet what new information will be unearthed when the returns are released, as the New York Times already published extensive reports in 2018 and 2020 based on leaked tax information. According to the 2020 report, Trump paid only $750 in income tax in both 2016 and 2017, with no income tax at all in 10 of the last 15 years having claimed millions of dollars in losses. His businesses did well in 2018/19 which gave him a $1.1M tax bill, however as the pandemic hit in 2020 he reported huge losses again of $5M which meant he actually paid $0 in income tax in his final year as president.
At the time, Trump denied these findings, saying, “it’s fake news, it’s totally fake news. Made up. Fake.” However, Neal reflected on how the report highlighted the inequality in US society. “This reporting shines a stark light on the vastly different experience people with power and influence have when interacting with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) than the average American taxpayer does.” He finished by saying, “It appears that the president has gamed the tax code to his advantage and used legal fights to delay or avoid paying what he owes.” Is this just the way of business or did the former president have something to hide by not releasing these figures sooner?
READ MORE: US Courts Just Ruled Against Donald Trump Org. In Tax Fraud Case
What Does Trump Have To Say?
Although the former president hasn’t reacted online yet to the latest decision, he was very vocal in the lead up to the committee’s meeting. Prior to the decision, on Sunday, December 18th, Trump took to his Truth Social account to hint that his tax returns won't show the full picture of his company's financials. "All of the so-called experts who think that they know so much about my very successful private company, actually know almost nothing," he began. "It is a GREAT COMPANY, with lots of cash, some of the greatest assets anywhere in the World, and very little debt. Also, strong on deductions and depreciation."
"You will be seeing these numbers soon, but not all from my tax returns, which show relatively little," he continued. "EVERYONE will be impressed, but the Fake News Media will not be happy, so against their narrative!"
Trump has come under fire for so many of his social media posts over the years, but he doesn’t appear to have learnt from his mistakes, as experts are suggesting that his recent Truth Social posts might hurt him as they could be used as evidence *against* him in court.
For more, check out my interview in Newsweek:https://t.co/FnStoJ1GVB
— Neama Rahmani (@NeamaRahmani) December 19, 2022
Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor told Newsweek that Trump's posts "can be used against him in court," including in the lawsuit by Letitia James. "Trump's lawyers have probably told him to keep his mouth shut, but he isn't listening," Rahmani said. "These statements are especially problematic from a legal perspective because they are evidence of Trump's knowledge and intent. They get inside Trump's head and show jurors what he was thinking and intending when he filed his tax returns." He added: "Most tax crimes have a willfulness requirement. Innocent mistakes aren't enough. Trump admitting he knew he was misstating his income satisfies that knowledge and intent requirement."
Attorney Andrew Lieb also told Newsweek that while Trump's comments may not lead to any "further legal trouble, it sure could be the nail in the coffin on his current cases." And Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney, added that "the general expectation was, and is, that the tax returns will show his income and liabilities do not match his public statements. That is, the returns likely will show a company and a person not as rich or successful as he claims."
He went on to say that Trump's "statements" on social media "about his tax returns not being accurate are more about perpetuating an image of a supposedly successful businessman. Trump's recent statements could be interpreted as an admission of filing untrue (i.e., false) tax returns, or it could reflect a tax reporting system that doesn't match the operating realities of a private company."
