View source for Tax returns of Donald Trump

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{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Donald Trump series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
[[Donald Trump]], [[President-elect of the United States]], controversially refused to release his [[Tax return (United States)|tax returns]] after being [[2016 United States presidential election|elected]] president the first time in 2016, although he promised to do so during [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|his campaign]].<ref name="FactPence">{{cite web |last1=Qiu |first1=Linda |date=October 5, 2016 |title=Pence's False claim that Trump 'hasn't broken' tax return promise |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/05/mike-pence/pences-false-claim-trump-hasnt-broken-tax-return-p/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021054205/https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/oct/05/mike-pence/pences-false-claim-trump-hasnt-broken-tax-return-p/ |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |access-date=April 11, 2019 |publisher=[[Politifact]]}}</ref><ref name="Harwell">{{cite news |last=Harwell |first=Drew |date=May 21, 2016 |title=Trump once revealed his income tax returns. They showed he didn't pay a cent. |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-income-tax-returns-once-became-public-they-showed-he-didnt-pay-a-cent/2016/05/20/ffa2f63c-1b7c-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706210006/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-income-tax-returns-once-became-public-they-showed-he-didnt-pay-a-cent/2016/05/20/ffa2f63c-1b7c-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html |archive-date=July 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name="fivetimes">{{cite news |last1=Blake |first1=Aaron |date=December 13, 2016 |title=5 things Donald Trump promised he'd do, but hasn't |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/13/5-things-donald-trump-promised-hed-do-but-hasnt/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419104238/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/13/5-things-donald-trump-promised-hed-do-but-hasnt/ |archive-date=April 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Kruzel">{{cite web|first=John|last=Kruzel|title=Release his tax returns after an audit is completed – Trump-O-Meter: Broken|date=May 12, 2017 |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1421/release-his-tax-returns-after-audit-completed/ |publisher=[[Politifact]]|access-date=April 11, 2019|archive-date=April 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411080402/https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1421/release-his-tax-returns-after-audit-completed/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|There is no law requiring public disclosure of tax information for presidents or presidential candidates, but all major-party candidates and all presidents have done so since [[Richard Nixon]]'s underpayment of taxes was revealed in a leak.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/15/695054845/a-history-of-presidential-tax-returns |title=A History Of Presidential Tax Returns |work=[[Morning Edition]] |access-date=September 22, 2023 |publisher=[[NPR]]|date=February 15, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Rubin |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/05/11/in-break-from-tradition-donald-trump-rules-out-release-tax-returns-ahead-of-election/ |access-date=October 16, 2020 |title=In Break From Tradition, Donald Trump Rules Out Releasing Tax Returns Ahead of Election |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=May 11, 2016 |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019161042/https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/05/11/in-break-from-tradition-donald-trump-rules-out-release-tax-returns-ahead-of-election/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Grant"/>}} In 2021, the [[Manhattan District Attorney|Manhattan district attorney]] (DA) obtained several years of Trump's tax information, and in late 2022, the [[U.S. House Ways and Means Committee]] obtained and released six years of his returns.{{efn|Under the [[Revenue Act of 1924]] (a response to the [[Teapot Dome scandal]]), the chair of the Ways and Means Committee has the right to obtain the tax records of any taxpayer.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=22 September 2023 |first=Ciara |last=Torres-Spelliscy |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/what-teapot-dome-scandal-has-do-trumps-tax-returns |title=What the Teapot Dome Scandal Has to Do With Trump's Tax Returns |publisher=Brennan Center for Justice |date=April 15, 2019}}</ref>}}
Trump repeatedly and [[False or misleading statements by Donald Trump|falsely claimed]] that he could not release the returns while they were under [[Income tax audit|audit]] by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS).<ref name="Baquet">{{cite news |first=Dean |last=Baquet |access-date=October 16, 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/trump-taxes-editors-note.html |title=An Editor's Note on the Trump Tax Investigation |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 27, 2020 |quote=In fact, he has fought relentlessly to hide them from public view and has falsely asserted that he could not release them because he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. More recently, Mr. Trump and the Justice Department have fought subpoenas from congressional and New York State investigators seeking his taxes and other financial records. |archive-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015215427/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/trump-taxes-editors-note.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Davison|first1=Laura|last2=Talev|first2=Margaret|title=Trump Falsely Says Law Prevents Him Releasing Tax Returns Under Audit|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-05/trump-refutes-democrats-authority-to-obtain-his-tax-returns|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=April 5, 2019|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002202213/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-05/trump-refutes-democrats-authority-to-obtain-his-tax-returns|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Orion|last1=Rummler|title=IRS commissioner: No rule against releasing Trump's tax returns while under audit|url=https://www.axios.com/trump-tax-returns-irs-commissioner-audit-20ebb0a7-dc47-4177-bf4c-565aa5cfb734.html|date=April 10, 2019|website=[[Axios.com]]|access-date=April 11, 2019|archive-date=April 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410211924/https://www.axios.com/trump-tax-returns-irs-commissioner-audit-20ebb0a7-dc47-4177-bf4c-565aa5cfb734.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|name=audit}} After Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives in [[2018 United States elections|2018]], Trump sued to prevent his returns from being released by the IRS or his accountants, which were being sought by certain state officials and [[congressional committee]]s. The Manhattan DA's request for records as part of [[New York investigations of The Trump Organization|its criminal probe]] of [[the Trump Organization]] (regarding [[Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal|a&nbsp;hush-money payment]] made during the 2016 presidential campaign and [[The Trump Organization#Investigations for fraud and tax evasion|alleged tax fraud]]) was appealed to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], resulting in [[Trump v. Vance|a 2020 decision]] rejecting Trump's claims that the president holds [[absolute immunity]] from criminal process.<ref name="TurnOver" /> In February 2021, Trump's accounting firm [[Mazars]] provided the DA eight years of Trump's tax returns.<ref name="TurnOver">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/nyregion/trump-taxes-lawsuit-vance.html|title=Trump Taxes: President Ordered to Turn Over Returns to Manhattan D.A.|last=Rashbaum|first=Weiser|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 15, 2020|access-date=2023-01-01|archive-date=October 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016052215/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/nyregion/trump-taxes-lawsuit-vance.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sisak">{{cite news |first=Michael R. |last=Sisak |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-new-york-cyrus-vance-jr-manhattan-subpoenas-8d30fbb11f84ccbc7ef8a49e23354620 |title=Appeals court hears fight over Trump tax returns – again |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=September 25, 2020 |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925195109/https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-new-york-cyrus-vance-jr-manhattan-subpoenas-8d30fbb11f84ccbc7ef8a49e23354620 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FirstTime">{{cite news |first1=Benjamin |last1=Weiser |first2=William K. |last2=Rashbaum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/nyregion/donald-trump-taxes-cyrus-vance.html |title=Trump Could Be Investigated for Tax Fraud, D.A. Says for First Time |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 21, 2020 |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927084124/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/nyregion/donald-trump-taxes-cyrus-vance.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In May 2019, Ways and Means Committee chair [[Richard Neal]] requested six years of Trump's tax records;<ref name="WaysMeansSub">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-subpoena.html |title=House Ways and Means Chairman Subpoenas Trump Tax Returns |first=Nicholas |last=Fandos|date=May 10, 2019|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-date=May 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510214009/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/us/politics/democrats-trump-tax-returns.html|url-status=live}}</ref> after appeals were exhausted, he received the documents on November 30, 2022.<ref name="2022Nov22SCOTUS">{{Cite web |last=de Vogue |first=Ariane |date=2022-11-22 |title=Supreme Court clears way for House to get Trump's taxes |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/politics/supreme-court-clears-way-for-house-to-get-trumps-taxes/index.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |work=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Polantz |first=Katelyn |date=2022-11-30 |title=House committee receives Donald Trump's federal tax returns from IRS |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/politics/house-ways-and-means-committee-now-has-donald-trumps-federal-tax-returns/index.html |access-date=2022-11-30 |work=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref> Four weeks later, the committee voted 24–16 along party lines to release the returns to the public,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Fox |first1=Lauren |last2=Diaz |first2=Daniella |last3=Herb |first3=Jeremy |date=2022-12-20 |title=Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee set to release Trump's taxes in the coming days |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/politics/house-trump-tax-returns/index.html |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=[[CNN]] Politics |language=en}}</ref> which was done on December&nbsp;30.<ref name=released>{{Cite web |last1=Goldman |first1=David |last2=Sahadi |first2=Jeanne |last3=Vazquez |first3=Maegan |last4=Herb |first4=Jeremy |date=2022-12-30 |title=Trump's tax returns shed new light on former president's finances |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/politics/donald-trump-tax-returns-released/index.html |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=[[CNN]] Politics |language=en}}</ref> The committee found that the IRS failed to audit Trump's taxes during the first two years of his presidency, and that the only audit conducted during his tenure was never completed.<ref name=taxreport>{{cite web|url=https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/2022.12.20%20Final%20Report%20House%20Ways%20and%20Means.pdf|title=Report on the Internal Revenue Service's Mandatory Audit Program Under the Prior Administration (2017-2020)|publisher=[[United States House Committee on Ways and Means]]|date=December 20, 2022|accessdate=December 21, 2022}}</ref><ref name=taxinpresidency>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/12/21/irs-failed-conduct-mandatory-audits-trump-tax-returns/10937349002/|title= Trump tax returns: House committee report shows IRS failed to conduct 'mandatory' audits |first1=Kevin |last1=McCoy |first2=David |last2=Jackson |first3=Donovan |last3=Slack |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=December 21, 2022 |accessdate=December 21, 2022}}</ref>{{efn|It is IRS policy, but not law, to annually audit tax returns of presidents and vice presidents.<ref name=Jagoda/>}}
In 2019, the [[U.S. House Oversight Committee]] subpoenaed Mazars for tax and other records related to an investigation into Trump's conduct; an appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in [[Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP|a&nbsp;decision]] outlining circumstances Congress can request presidential records without violating [[separation of powers]].<ref name="TrumpVMazars">{{cite web|author=[[Roberts, John]]|date=July 9, 2020|title=Trump et al. v. Mazars USA, LLP, et al. |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-715_febh.pdf|access-date=2021-07-30|publisher=[[United States Supreme Court]]}}</ref><ref name="CNBC">{{cite web|author1=Higgins, Tucker|author2=Pramuk, Jacob|date=November 18, 2019|title=Supreme Court temporarily halts court order requiring accountants to turn over Trump's tax returns to Congress|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/18/supreme-court-temporarily-halts-court-order-requiring-accountants-to-turn-over-trumps-tax-returns-to-congress.html|access-date=2021-07-30|publisher=[[NBC News]]}}</ref>{{refn|Multiple sources<ref name=Sisak/><ref name="Liptak">{{Cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|date=July 9, 2020|title=Supreme Court Rules Trump Cannot Block Release of Financial Records|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/trump-taxes-supreme-court.html|access-date=July 9, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709143014/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/trump-taxes-supreme-court.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=SplitDecision>{{cite news |first1=Josh |last1=Gerstein |first2=Kyle |last2=Cheney |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/supreme-court-trump-tax-returns-financial-records-353428 |title=Supreme Court splits on Trump tax cases, potentially shielding returns until after election |work=[[Politico]]|date=July 8, 2020 |access-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929171729/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/supreme-court-trump-tax-returns-financial-records-353428 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=SCtMazars2020/><ref>{{cite news |first1=Sonam |last1=Sheth |first2=Darren |last2=Samuelsohn |title=Supreme Court rules against Trump in 2 landmark cases about his taxes and financial records |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-ruling-trump-taxes-financial-records-2020-7?r=DE&IR=T |access-date=July 9, 2020 |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=July 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709220131/https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-ruling-trump-taxes-financial-records-2020-7?r=DE&IR=T |archive-date=July 9, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Ford |first1=Matt |title=The Supreme Court Brings the Presidency Back From a Lawless Brink |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/158156/supreme-court-trump-mazars-vance |url-status=live |access-date=July 9, 2020 |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |date=July 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200709211730/https://newrepublic.com/article/158156/supreme-court-trump-mazars-vance |archive-date=July 9, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="20200709CourthouseNewsRyan">{{cite web |last1=Ryan |first1=Tim |title=High Court Roils White House With Punt on House Subpoenas |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/high-court-roils-white-house-with-punt-on-house-subpoenas/ |work=[[Courthouse News Service|Courthouse News]] |access-date=July 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711233408/https://www.courthousenews.com/high-court-roils-white-house-with-punt-on-house-subpoenas/ |url-status=live |archive-date=July 11, 2020 |date=July 9, 2020}}</ref>}}
Also in 2019, [[California]] temporarily enacted legislation to require presidential candidates to release tax returns to be allowed on the primary election ballot,<ref name="nytimes-30jul2019">{{cite news |last1=Medina |first1=Jennifer |last2=Karni |first2=Annie |date=July 30, 2019 |title=California Requires Trump Tax Returns Under New Election Law |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/politics/california-trump-tax-returns.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730194813/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/politics/california-trump-tax-returns.html |archive-date=July 30, 2019}}</ref>{{efn|The [[California Supreme Court]] ruled that this law violated the state's constitution.<ref name=BeckerSullivan />}} and [[New York State]] passed a law allowing the release of state tax returns to congressional committees for valid purposes.<ref name="NYT-bill">{{cite news |last=McKinley |first=Jesse |date=May 22, 2019 |title=New York Passes Bill Giving Congress a Way to Get Trump's State Tax Returns |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/nyregion/trump-state-tax-returns.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923111516/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/nyregion/trump-state-tax-returns.html |archive-date=September 23, 2019}}</ref>
== History of controversy ==
{{further|False or misleading statements by Donald Trump}}
In 1999, while [[Donald Trump]] was considering whether [[Donald Trump 2000 presidential campaign|to run for president]] under the [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform Party]], he said "probably wouldn't have a problem with" releasing his tax returns if he ran.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaczynski |first1=Andrew |date=March 4, 2016 |title=Trump In 1999: I Probably Wouldn't Have A Problem Releasing My Tax Returns If I Ran |website=[[Buzzfeed News]] |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/during-1999-run-trump-vowed-to-release-his-tax-returns |url-status=live |access-date=August 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809012533/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/during-1999-run-trump-vowed-to-release-his-tax-returns |archive-date=August 9, 2020}}</ref>
In April 2011, Trump said that when President [[Barack Obama]] produced "[[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|his birth certificate]]&nbsp;... I'd love to give my tax returns." [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories#Long form, 2011|Obama's birth certificate was released a week later]], resulting in Trump's saying his tax returns would be released "at the appropriate time".<ref name="FactPence" />
An undocumented immigrant housekeeper from [[Costa Rica]] working at [[Trump National Golf Club Bedminster|Trump National Golf Club]] in [[Bedminster, New Jersey]], earned $26,792.90 and paid more in federal income taxes than Trump did ($0) in 2011.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Vesoulis |first=Abby |date=September 30, 2020 |title=Why Donald Trump's Former Housekeeper&nbsp;– and Millions of Other American Workers &nbsp;– Paid More in Federal Taxes Than Her Boss |url=https://time.com/5894381/tax-code-wealthy/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007185222/https://time.com/5894381/tax-code-wealthy/ |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref>
In 2012, Trump sought to have Republican presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]]'s tax returns released on April 1, which "historically is the time that everybody gives them".<ref name="WaPoBus">{{cite news |last1=Harwell |first1=Drew |date=September 15, 2016 |title=All the excuses Trump has given for why he won't release his tax returns |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/09/15/a-running-tally-of-trumps-many-excuses-for-why-he-wont-release-his-tax-returns/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725175205/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/09/15/a-running-tally-of-trumps-many-excuses-for-why-he-wont-release-his-tax-returns/ |archive-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref> That year, Trump also said that not seeing a presidential candidate's tax returns would lead people to think there was "almost, like, something wrong. What's wrong?"<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Nora Kelly |date=August 12, 2016 |title=How Hillary Clinton Is Using Her Taxes as a Political Weapon |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/clinton-tax-returns-trump/495755/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930070213/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/clinton-tax-returns-trump/495755/ |archive-date=September 30, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2019 |website=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref>
Trump's former political adviser [[Sam Nunberg]] said in 2013 and 2014 that Trump had considered the possibility of releasing his tax returns as part of a presidential campaign, believing that showing how little he paid in taxes would make him appear to be a savvy businessman.<ref name="Ward">{{cite news |last=Ward |first=Vicky |author-link=Vicky Ward |date=October 14, 2019 |title=Trump wanted to release his taxes in 2013 to show how smart he was for paying so little |access-date=22 September 2023 |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/14/politics/trump-originally-wanted-to-release-tax-returns/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809021134/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/14/politics/trump-originally-wanted-to-release-tax-returns/index.html |archive-date=August 9, 2020}}</ref> Nunberg said by November 2014, he had persuaded Trump to reverse course and withhold his tax returns, as Trump decided he "wanted to look rich rather than smart".<ref name="Ward" /> In May 2014, Trump said in an interview: "If I decide to run for office, I'll produce my tax returns, absolutely and I would love to do that."<ref name="FactPence" /><ref name="WaPoBus" />
===2016 campaign===
In February 2015, Trump said he would release tax returns if he ran for president.<ref name="FactPence" /> On another occasion that month, he declared: "I have no objection to certainly showing tax returns."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gass |first1=Nick |date=June 5, 2016 |title=Carson: Trump will release tax returns before election |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-release-tax-records-222887 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807125354/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-release-tax-records-222887 |archive-date=August 7, 2019 |access-date=August 7, 2019 |website=[[Politico]]}}</ref> Later in February 2015, Trump warned: "I will tell you upfront&nbsp;... I want to pay as little taxes as I can as a private person".<ref name="FactPence" /> In May 2016, Trump voiced similar sentiments, stating that he tries "very hard to pay as little tax as possible". In 2015, Trump criticized corporate executives and "hedge fund guys" for paying zero or negligible taxes. He also alleged in 2011 and 2012 that half of all Americans do not pay income taxes, stating, "it's a problem," while alluding to "crippling" government debt. In 2012, Trump had criticized President Obama for "only" paying a tax rate of around 20%.<ref name="WaPoBus" /> Trump announced his candidacy for president in June 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Santucci |first1=John |last2=Stracqualursi |first2=Veronica |date=June 16, 2015 |title=Donald Trump Announces 2016 Presidential Campaign: 'We Are Going Make our Country Great Again' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-announces-2016-presidential-campaign-make-country/story?id=31799741 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429121331/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-announces-2016-presidential-campaign-make-country/story?id=31799741 |archive-date=April 29, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |work=ABC News}}</ref>
In January 2016, Trump was asked by [[Chuck Todd]] if he would release his tax returns, to which Trump answered: "we'll be working that over in the next period of time, Chuck. Absolutely. ... at the appropriate time, you'll be very satisfied."<ref name="fivetimes" /> In February 2016, Trump said he would release his tax returns "[p]robably over the next few months. They're being worked on now."<ref name="fivetimes" /> Later that month, Trump falsely claimed that he could not release his tax returns while under audit.<ref name="Baquet" />{{efn|name=audit|Trump said he had been audited for a consecutive "twelve years or something like that"; it is rare for a taxpayer to be audited for several consecutive years.<ref name="POLITICOtwelve">{{cite web|last1=Becker|first1=Bernie|last2=Faler|first2=Brian|title=IRS chief: 'Rare' for taxpayer to be audited several years in a row, as Trump claims|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-irs-audit-experts-219889|date=February 26, 2016|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=April 11, 2019|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411011224/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-irs-audit-experts-219889|url-status=live}}</ref>  In 2016, Trump's tax attorneys stated that Trump has been under audit since 2002. However, in 2011, 2014, and 2015, Trump made offers to release his tax returns, presumably while he was still under audit.<ref name="FactPence"/>}} Nothing prevents a taxpayer from releasing his own tax returns; the IRS has confirmed that individuals are free to share their own tax information.<ref name="WaPoBus" /><ref name="POLITICOtwelve" /><ref name="Rappeport"/>{{efn|Some tax lawyers advise clients under IRS audit not to release tax returns for tactical reasons, to avoid "[[crowdsourcing]] the audit."<ref name=Stockman>{{cite news|url=https://lawandcrime.com/politics/legal-experts-side-with-trump-it-would-be-totally-stupid-to-release-his-taxes-during-audit/ |title=Legal Experts Side With Trump; It Would Be Crazy to Release His Taxes During Audit |last=Stockman |first=Rachel |date=May 13, 2016 |work=[[lawandcrime.com]] |access-date=July 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227162756/https://lawandcrime.com/politics/legal-experts-side-with-trump-it-would-be-totally-stupid-to-release-his-taxes-during-audit/ |archive-date=December 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stewart |first=Emily |url=https://www.thestreet.com/politics/would-no-tax-lawyer-advise-trump-release-his-tax-returns-it-s-complicated-13687015 |title=Would No Tax Lawyer Advise Trump Release His Tax Returns? It's Complicated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924183723/https://www.thestreet.com/story/13687015/1/would-no-tax-lawyer-advise-trump-release-his-tax-returns-it-s-complicated.html |archive-date=September 24, 2016 |url-status=live |work=[[TheStreet.com]] |date=August 27, 2016 }}</ref> In contrast, economist [[Paul Krugman]] argued that Trump should be more willing to reveal his tax information if he were already under audit, as the reveal might have triggered an audit if there was not one.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2016/06/01/the-saga-over-donald-trumps-tax-returns-rolls-on|title=The saga over Donald Trump's tax returns rolls on|date=June 1, 2016|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714030549/http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2016/06/donalds-taxes|archive-date=July 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Every president from [[Richard Nixon]] onward has voluntarily released his tax returns annually, and the IRS automatically (since the 1970s) audits the tax returns of presidents and vice presidents.<ref name="WaPoBus" />
In May 2016, Trump said he would not release his tax returns before the November 2016 election.<ref name="Rappeport">{{cite news |last=Rappeport |first=Alan |date=May 11, 2016 |title=Donald Trump Breaks With Recent History by Not Releasing Tax Returns |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/11/donald-trump-breaks-with-recent-history-by-not-releasing-tax-returns/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719083106/https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/11/donald-trump-breaks-with-recent-history-by-not-releasing-tax-returns/ |archive-date=July 19, 2016}}</ref><ref name="MoneyWhen">{{Cite web |last=Tuttle |first=Brad |date=February 7, 2019 |title=Will Donald Trump's Tax Returns Be Released? Democrats Just Made Their First Move |url=https://money.com/money/5634725/donald-trump-tax-returns-released-2019-democrats/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217002556/http://money.com/money/5634725/donald-trump-tax-returns-released-2019-democrats/ |archive-date=February 17, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |website=Money |language=en}}</ref> Trump also said in May 2016 that "there's nothing to learn from" his tax returns,<ref name="Rappeport" /> and said on [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] that his tax rate is "none of your business".<ref name="Harwell" /> Trump's refusal broke with tradition, as all major presidential nominees from 1976 onward have released their tax returns.<ref name="WaPoBus" />
Trump was criticized for his refusal to release tax information. Mitt Romney called Trump's refusal "disqualifying" and said the only logical reason for Trump was that "there is a bombshell in them."<ref>{{cite news |date=May 11, 2016 |title=Romney calls decision by Trump not to release tax returns 'disqualifying' |work=[[Fox News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/romney-calls-decision-by-trump-not-to-release-tax-returns-disqualifying |url-status=live |access-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619110559/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/11/romney-calls-decision-by-trump-not-to-release-tax-returns-disqualifying.html |archive-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref> [[John Fund]] of ''[[National Review]]'' feared that the returns contained an electoral "time bomb" and called upon [[2016 Republican National Convention|Republican convention delegates]] to abstain from voting for Trump if he did not release the information.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fund |first=John |date=May 11, 2016 |title=Trump's Refusal to Release Tax Returns Is a Ticking Time Bomb for the GOP |work=National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/05/donald-trumps-tax-returns-delegates-should-abstain-if-he-wont-release/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718073935/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/435254/donald-trumps-tax-returns-delegates-should-abstain-if-he-wont-release |archive-date=July 18, 2016}}</ref>
During the [[2016 United States presidential debates|presidential debates]], Trump's opponent [[Hillary Clinton]] criticized Trump for not disclosing his tax returns, saying that only "a couple of years" of Trump's tax returns were publicly available, "and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax." Trump responded: "That makes me smart." Clinton went on to suggest that Trump might not have "paid any federal income tax for a lot of years"; Trump responding by saying that the taxes he paid "would be squandered" by the government.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mangan |first=Dan |date=September 26, 2016 |title=Trump brags about not paying taxes: 'That makes me smart' |publisher=[[CNBC]] |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/26/trump-brags-about-not-paying-taxes-that-makes-me-smart.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022200654/https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/26/trump-brags-about-not-paying-taxes-that-makes-me-smart.html |archive-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>
=== 2016 election and later ===
{{further|Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency}}
Fragments of information about Trump's taxes leaked at multiple times around the time of his election as president.<ref name="Buettner" /> In 2016, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported a prior [[Income tax audit|audit]] of Trump's tax returns for 2002 through 2008 by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS) which was "closed administratively by agreement with the I.R.S. without assessment or payment, on a net basis, of any deficiency."<ref name="Wapo2016">{{cite news |last1=Ehrenfreund |first1=Max |date=1 November 2016 |title=A big, dirty secret from Donald Trump's tax returns has been exposed |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/01/a-big-dirty-secret-from-donald-trumps-tax-returns-has-been-exposed/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210192856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/01/a-big-dirty-secret-from-donald-trumps-tax-returns-has-been-exposed/ |archive-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref> The audit centered on a potential failure to report cancelled debts as income by Trump, and whether he performed a [[Swap (finance)|stock-for-debt swap]]. Some tax attorneys speculate that the government may ultimately have reduced what Trump was able to claim as a loss without requiring him to pay any additional taxes.<ref name="Wapo2016" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Confessore |first1=Nicholas |last2=Appelbaum |first2=Binyamin |date=October 4, 2016 |title=How a Simple Tax Rule Let Donald Trump Turn a $916 Million Loss Into a Plus |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209120846/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |archive-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref> It is unknown whether the IRS challenged Trump's use of the stock-for-debt swap, which is a maneuver with questionable legality.<ref name="Barstow2016">{{cite news |last1=Barstow |first1=David |last2=McIntire |first2=Mike |last3=Cohen |first3=Patricia |last4=Craig |first4=Susanne |last5=Buettner |first5=Russ |date=November 2, 2016 |title=Donald Trump Used Legally Dubious Method to Avoid Paying Taxes |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/us/politics/donald-trump-tax.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003024918/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/us/politics/donald-trump-tax.html |archive-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref> [[United States Congress|Congress]] had previously banned equity-for-debt swaps by corporations in 1993, and by partnerships such as Trump's in 2004.<ref name="Barstow2016" />
[[File:Fred Trump in the 1980s (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright=.67|Trump's father, [[Fred Trump|Fred]]]]
In separate leaks, parts of Trump's 1995 and 2005 returns were examined by multiple news organizations.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Deb |first1=Sopan |last2=Fraser-Chanpong |first2=Hannah |date=October 1, 2016 |title=NYT: Trump declared a $916 million loss in 1995 tax returns |publisher=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-times-trump-declared-a-916-million-loss-in-1995-tax-returns/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002062654/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-times-trump-declared-a-916-million-loss-in-1995-tax-returns/ |archive-date=October 2, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Light |first=Larry |date=March 15, 2017 |title=A Trump tax return revealed – here's what accountants think of it |publisher=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-tax-return-leaked-rachel-maddow-what-accountants-think-alternative-minimum-tax/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929010525/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-tax-return-leaked-rachel-maddow-what-accountants-think-alternative-minimum-tax/ |archive-date=September 29, 2018}}</ref> In 2016, ''[[The New York Times]]'' examined three pages of his 1995 return and found that in that year, he declared a [[net operating loss]] of more than $500&nbsp;million. Under section 172 of the [[Internal Revenue Code]], this gave Trump a $915.7&nbsp;million net loss. This loss was carried over to offset income for up to 18 years after it was originally claimed,<ref name="Buettner" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Doe |first=John |date=October 1, 2016 |title=Trump incurs $916 million loss on his income tax returns |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-times-trump-declared-a-916-million-loss-in-1995-tax-returns/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002062654/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-times-trump-declared-a-916-million-loss-in-1995-tax-returns/ |archive-date=October 2, 2016 |access-date=October 2, 2016 |publisher=[[CBS News]]}}</ref> and could have allowed him to pay no taxes at all for those years.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barstow |first1=David |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |last3=Buettner |first3=Ross |last4=Twohey |first4=Megan |date=October 1, 2016 |title=Donald Trump Tax Records Show He Could Have Avoided Taxes for Nearly Two Decades, The Times Found |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> In March 2017, journalist [[David Cay Johnston]] obtained the first two pages of Trump's 2005 federal income tax returns, which were given to [[Rachel Maddow]] and shown on [[MSNBC]].<ref name="Buettner" /><ref name="nyt-taxes">{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |author1-link=Peter Baker (journalist) |last2=Drucker |first2=Jesse |last3=Craig |first3=Susanne |author3-link=Susanne Craig |last4=Barstow |first4=David |author4-link=David Barstow |date=March 15, 2017 |title=Trump Wrote Off $100 Million in Business Losses in 2005 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315125638/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |archive-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> These pages showed Trump's gross adjusted income to be $153&nbsp;million, with $103&nbsp;million in losses; he paid $38&nbsp;million in federal taxes, including $31 million for the [[alternative minimum tax]], which he was seeking to abolish. The [[White House Office|White House]] described the losses as being from "large-scale [[depreciation]] for construction" and said the return had been "illegally published".<ref name="nyt-taxes" /><ref name="hill-taxes">{{cite news |last=Jagoda |first=Naomi |date=March 14, 2017 |title=WH releases Trump tax info ahead of MSNBC report: He paid $38M in federal taxes in '05 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/324016-wh-releases-trump-tax-info-ahead-of-msnbc-report-made-150m-in-2005/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315010347/http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/324016-wh-releases-trump-tax-info-ahead-of-msnbc-report-made-150m-in-2005 |archive-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> Johnston said publishing the forms was legal because he had not been looking for them and "they might even have been sent by Mr. Trump himself".<ref name="nyt-taxes" /> A team of ''New York Times'' journalists including [[Susanne Craig]] and [[David Barstow]] thought the income seemed inconsistent with any of Trump's known ventures from the time and suspected that it could be related to the 2004 sale of assets inherited from his father, [[Fred Trump]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite AV media |title=The Family Business: Trump and Taxes |date=2018 |type=Television production |publisher=[[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] |minutes=1–5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Barstow |first1=David |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |last3=Buettner |first3=Russ |date=October 2, 2018 |title=Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html |access-date=July 22, 2020}}</ref> This sparked a larger investigation into the finances of Fred and Donald Trump.<ref name=":3" />
As president, Trump continued to withhold his tax returns.<ref name="Grant">{{cite news |last=Grant |first=Tim |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Trump's refusal to release his tax returns breaks a long presidential tradition |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2019/05/06/donald-trump-taxes-presidential-tax-law-ways-means-committee/stories/201904250114 |url-status=live |access-date=October 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005020714/https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2019/05/06/donald-trump-taxes-presidential-tax-law-ways-means-committee/stories/201904250114 |archive-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref> In May 2017, Trump said he "might" release his tax returns only after he had stepped down as president. This was in spite of his previous commitment made during his campaign to release his tax returns once they were not under audit.<ref name="Kruzel" />
In 2018, the ''New York Times'' investigation into the finances of Fred and Donald Trump revealed that despite the claims of the latter to be a self-made billionaire, he had actually received more than $400&nbsp;million (in 2018 dollars) from his father, most of it in ways that avoided paying gift or inheritance tax. The 13,000-word report was one of the longest investigative articles ever published by the ''Times''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Buettner |first1=Ross |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |last3=Barstow |first3=David |date=October 2, 2018 |title=11 Takeaways From The Times's Investigation Into Trump's Wealth |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-wealth-fred-trump.html |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref>
On September 29, 2023, federal prosecutors announced they were charging someone with leaking the data from Trump's tax returns while he was a contractor for the IRS from 2018 to 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rabinowitz |first=Hannah |date=2023-09-29 |title=IRS contractor charged with stealing Donald Trump's tax returns, which were leaked to press |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/29/politics/irs-contractor-trump-taxes/index.html |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref> In October Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information.<ref>{{Cite press release |date=2024-01-29 |work=Office of Public Affairs |title=Former IRS Contractor Sentenced for Disclosing Tax Return Information to News Organizations |publisher=United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-irs-contractor-sentenced-disclosing-tax-return-information-news-organizations |access-date=2024-07-15 |language=en}}</ref> On January 29, 2024, he received the maximum possible sentence of five years in federal prison and was fined $5,000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Daniel |last2=Reilly |first2=Ryan J. |date=2024-01-29 |title=Ex-IRS contractor sentenced to 5 years in prison for leaking Trump tax records |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-irs-contractor-sentenced-5-years-prison-leaking-trump-tax-recor-rcna135908 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
Donald Trumps Tax Returns can be found here https://www.taxnotes.com/presidential-tax-returns and his running mate [[JD Vance]] has not released their tax returns, while Kamala Harris released two decades of returns, including her most recent returns in April.
== Subpoenas and investigations ==
===House Ways and Means Committee===
[[File:Trump Tax Joint Committee Final Report - December 15, 2022.pdf|thumb|The December 15, 2022, report issued by the [[United States Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation|Joint Committee on Taxation]] to the [[House Ways and Means Committee]] ([[PDF]] file)]]
After winning control of the House in the [[United States House of Representatives election, 2018|2018 elections]], House Democrats signaled their intent to use their new power to demand Trump's tax returns in the new Congress, which convened in January 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=With House majority, Dems intend to request Trump's tax returns |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/with-house-majority-dems-intend-to-request-for-trump-s-tax-returns-1363758147582 |date=November 7, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218175948/https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/with-house-majority-dems-intend-to-request-for-trump-s-tax-returns-1363758147582 |archive-date=February 18, 2019 |access-date=April 6, 2019 |work=[[MSNBC]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Tom |date=November 7, 2018 |title=Democrats set to demand Donald Trump's tax returns after winning House majority |url=https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-tax-returns-democrats-will-demand-presidents-records-house-1205085 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328065104/https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-tax-returns-democrats-will-demand-presidents-records-house-1205085 |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |access-date=April 6, 2019 |website=[[Newsweek]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Garcia |first=Catherine |date=November 6, 2018 |title=Once in power, House Democrats will reportedly demand Trump's tax returns |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/806128/once-power-house-democrats-reportedly-demand-trumps-tax-returns |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207165348/https://theweek.com/speedreads/806128/once-power-house-democrats-reportedly-demand-trumps-tax-returns |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |access-date=April 6, 2019 |website=The Week}}</ref> On April&nbsp;3, 2019, the chairman of the [[U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means]], Congressman [[Richard Neal]], formally requested IRS commissioner [[Charles P. Rettig]] to provide six years (2013 through 2018) of Trump's returns.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Gordon |first=Marcy |date=April 4, 2019 |title=White House pushes back on request for Trump tax forms |url=https://apnews.com/08407f0c1bd04a2cb33842ebe8113d82 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405004721/https://apnews.com/08407f0c1bd04a2cb33842ebe8113d82 |archive-date=April 5, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |last1=Werner |first1=Erica |last2=Paletta |first2=Damian |last3=Stein |first3=Jeff |date=April 4, 2019 |title=White House maneuvers to block release of Trump's tax returns |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/white-house-maneuvers-to-block-release-of-trumps-tax-returns/2019/04/04/047b19e0-56f4-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405054133/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/white-house-maneuvers-to-block-release-of-trumps-tax-returns/2019/04/04/047b19e0-56f4-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html |archive-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref> The request, made in a letter, set a deadline of seven days.<ref name="auto" /> Neal again wrote to Rettig on April 13, setting a second deadline of April 23 and writing that a failure to meet the deadline would be "interpreted as a denial".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lorenzo |first1=Aaron |date=April 13, 2019 |title=Neal gives IRS commissioner new deadline for handing over Trump's tax returns |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/13/irs-trump-tax-returns-1273712 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416055353/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/13/irs-trump-tax-returns-1273712 |archive-date=April 16, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref>
Under a 1924 [[Taxation in the United States|federal tax law]], §&nbsp;6103 of [[title 26 of the United States Code]], Congress may request copies of anyone's tax returns.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dilanian |first=Ken |date=December 20, 2018 |title=Here's how Democrats plan to get Donald Trump's tax returns |publisher=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-want-use-obscure-law-grab-donald-trump-s-tax-n949286 |url-status=live |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118132721/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-want-use-obscure-law-grab-donald-trump-s-tax-n949286 |archive-date=January 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harmon |first=John M. |date=May 2, 1977 |title=Memorandum Opinion for the Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service – Congressional Access to Tax Returns – 26 U.S.C. § 6103(f) |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/opinions/1977/05/31/op-olc-v001-p0085_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117151500/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/opinions/1977/05/31/op-olc-v001-p0085_0.pdf |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |access-date=April 4, 2019 |website=United States Department of Justice}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=26 U.S. Code § 6103 – Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6103 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401140541/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6103 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |website=[[Legal Information Institute]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sahadi |first=Jeanne |date=September 5, 2018 |title=The 1924 law Democrats may tap to see Trump's tax returns |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/05/politics/trump-tax-returns/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307181133/https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/05/politics/trump-tax-returns/index.html |archive-date=March 7, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> The [[treasury secretary]] is legally obliged to provide the tax returns, and there is no apparent legal mechanism to deny Congress's request.<ref name="auto1" /> On April 5, 2019, Trump's personal lawyer [[William Consovoy]] wrote a letter to the [[U.S. Department of the Treasury]] (the parent agency of the IRS), claiming that the request for Trump's tax information is "not consistent with governing law" and Congress is trying to violate Trump's [[First Amendment]] rights.<ref name="hufffight">{{Cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Andy |last2=Delaney |first2=Arthur |date=April 5, 2019 |title=Trump Lawyers Fight Release Of The President's Tax Returns |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-lawyers-fight-release-of-the-presidents-tax-returns_n_5ca7b38ce4b0dca0330159f4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117151507/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-lawyers-fight-release-of-the-presidents-tax-returns_n_5ca7b38ce4b0dca0330159f4 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |website=[[HuffPost]]}}</ref> A 2018 draft IRS legal memo, the contents of which became public in 2019, concluded that the IRS must provide the requested tax returns to Congress unless Trump invokes executive privilege, contradicting the administration's justification for defying the earlier subpoena.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Jeff |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |date=May 21, 2019 |title=Confidential draft IRS memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless president invokes executive privilege |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/confidential-draft-irs-memo-says-tax-returns-must-be-given-to-congress-unless-president-invokes-executive-privilege/2019/05/21/8ed41834-7b1c-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418054154/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/confidential-draft-irs-memo-says-tax-returns-must-be-given-to-congress-unless-president-invokes-executive-privilege/2019/05/21/8ed41834-7b1c-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html |archive-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref>
On May 10, 2019, Neal issued a separate subpoena to the Treasury Department and the IRS for six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns.<ref name="WaysMeansSub" /> Neal said the committee wanted the tax records to evaluate "the extent to which the I.R.S. audits and enforces the federal tax laws against a president".<ref name="WaysMeansSub" /> On July 30, 2021, the Justice Department's [[Office of Legal Counsel]] wrote an opinion concluding that the committee's request was legitimate and the IRS must provide the information sought,<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Fandos |first1=Nicholas |last2=Rogers |first2=Katie |date=2021-07-30 |title=Treasury must turn over Trump's taxes to Congress, the Justice Dept. says. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/us/politics/trump-taxes-congress.html |access-date=2021-07-31 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="OLC">{{cite book |last=Button |first=Bryce |chapter=Giving Respect Where Respect is Due |chapter-url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9781578200962500071 |title=Nonlinear Editing: Storytelling, Aesthetics, and Craft |pages=111–146 |year=2002 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/b978-1-578-20096-2.50007-1 |isbn=978-1-57820-096-2 |access-date=2021-07-30}}</ref> but on August 4, Trump's legal team opined that the committee should stop investigating Trump's affairs, arguing that Neal's "requests have always been a transparent effort by one political party to harass an official from the other party because they dislike his politics and speech."<ref name="CNN080421">{{Cite web |last=Polantz |first=Katelyn |date=August 4, 2021 |title=Trump asks court to end House pursuit of his tax returns from IRS |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/04/politics/trump-tax-returns-response/index.html |access-date=2021-08-05 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
On August 9, 2022, a three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals said Neal's request was valid.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sneed |first1=Tierney |last2=Polantz |first2=Katelyn |date=9 August 2022 |title=Appeals court says House can obtain Trump's taxes from the IRS |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/09/politics/appeals-court-house-trump-taxes-opinion/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809160955/https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/09/politics/appeals-court-house-trump-taxes-opinion/index.html |archive-date=2022-08-09 |access-date=2022-08-09 |url-status=live |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Trump appealed to the full court, but on October 27, it denied his request for a rehearing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mangan |first=Dan |date=2022-10-27 |title=Trump loses latest court bid to block Congress from getting his income tax returns |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/27/trump-loses-court-bid-to-block-congress-from-getting-tax-returns.html |access-date=2022-10-27 |publisher=[[CNBC]] |language=en}}</ref> On October 31, Trump appealed to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sneed |first=Tierney |date=2022-10-31 |title=Trump asks Supreme Court to stop IRS from turning over his tax returns to the House |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/31/politics/trump-supreme-court-appeal/index.html |access-date=2022-10-31 |publisher=[[CNN]]|language=en}}</ref> On November 1, Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] granted a temporary hold, giving the Supreme Court until November 10 to consider the matter.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=de Vogue |first1=Ariane |last2=Sneed |first2=Tierney |date=2022-11-01 |title=Chief Justice John Roberts puts temporary hold on release of Trump's tax returns to Congress |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/01/politics/trump-tax-returns-supreme-court-john-roberts/index.html |access-date=2022-11-01 |publisher=[[CNN]]|language=en}}</ref> On November 22, the Supreme Court ruled that the IRS could release the tax returns to the House Ways and Means committee.<ref name="2022Nov22SCOTUS" /> On November 30, the Treasury Department sent six years of tax returns to the committee.<ref name=":2" />
On December 20, 2022, the House Ways and Means committee voted to release Trump's tax returns publicly.<ref name="guard-20dec2022">{{cite news |date=December 20, 2022 |title=House committee votes to release Trump's tax returns to the public |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/20/house-committee-votes-release-trump-tax-returns |access-date=December 20, 2022}}</ref> The same day, the committee published a report which found that the IRS did not start audits on Trump's 2017 tax filing until 2019, and that only one mandatory audit was started and none completed during Trump's four years in office.<ref name="taxreport" /><ref name="taxinpresidency" /> The committee released the returns on December 30, following their redaction to protect sensitive personal information.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Scott |last=MacFarlane |date=2022-12-27 |title=House panel expected to release redacted Trump tax returns Friday |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tax-returns-released-2022-12-30-house-ways-and-means-committee/ |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=[[CBS News]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="released" />
===House Oversight and Reform Committee===
On April 15, 2019, the chairman of the [[House Committee on Oversight and Reform]], Representative [[Elijah Cummings]], issued a subpoena to the accounting firm Mazars USA, LLP, requesting tax records and other "financial documents concerning the President and his companies covering years both before and during his presidency."<ref name="DCCirDecision">{{cite court|litigants=Trump v. Mazars USA|court=[[D.C. Cir.]]|opinion=19-5142|date=October 11, 2019|url=https://casetext.com/case/trump-v-mazars-usa-llp}}</ref> Cummings identified four areas that the committee aimed to investigate through the subpoena: (1) whether Trump "may have engaged in illegal conduct before and during his tenure in office"; (2) whether Trump "has undisclosed [[conflicts of interest]] that may impair his ability to make impartial policy decisions"; (3) whether Trump was complying with the Constitution's [[Foreign Emoluments Clause]] and [[Domestic Emoluments Clause]]; and (4) whether Trump "has accurately reported his finances to the Office of Government Ethics and other federal entities."<ref name="DCCirDecision" />
On March 3, 2021, the new chairwoman of the committee, Representative [[Carolyn Maloney]], reissued the subpoena against Mazars USA after the initial subpoena for financial records, related to an investigation into Trump, expired at the end of 166th Congress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=House Oversight panel reissues subpoena for Trump's financial records |date=3 March 2021 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-oversight-panel-reissues-subpoena-trump-s-tax-records-n1259431 |first1=Rebecca |last1=Shabad |first2=Haley |last2=Talbot |first3=Alex |last3=Moe |access-date=2021-05-09 |work=[[NBC News]] |language=en}}</ref>
On September 12, 2022, Trump and the committee settled a civil suit about information from 2014 to 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 September 2022 |title=Trump v. U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform: Civil Action No.: 1:19-cv-01136-APM |url=https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.206477/gov.uscourts.dcd.206477.81.0_2.pdf |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=storage.courtlistener.com}}</ref> Within several days, Mazars began providing Trump's financial records to the committee.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Papenfuss |first=Mary |date=2022-09-17 |title=Trump's Former Accounting Firm Now Turning Over His Financial Records To Congress: Report |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/accounting-firm-mazars-usa-trump-financial-documents-congress_n_63267026e4b0ed021dfda2a3 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en}}</ref>
===Failure to comply===
The Trump administration refused to comply with the subpoenas.<ref name="Defies">{{Cite web |author=Fox |first=Lauren |date=May 17, 2019 |title=Mnuchin defies House Democrats' subpoenas for Trump's tax returns |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/politics/steve-mnuchin-tax-returns-repsonse/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104203722/https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/politics/steve-mnuchin-tax-returns-repsonse/index.html |archive-date=November 4, 2019 |access-date=May 20, 2019 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref name="MnunchinRefusal">{{cite news |last=Rappeport |first=Alan |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Steven Mnuchin Refuses to Release Trump's Tax Returns to Congress |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-mnuchin.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428200851/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-mnuchin.html |archive-date=April 28, 2020}}</ref> On May 6, 2019, after weeks of delay, Treasury Secretary [[Steven Mnuchin]] sent a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Neal, asserting that the subpoena lacked "a legitimate legislative purpose" and that "the department may not lawfully fulfill the committee's request," although the IRS had released Richard Nixon's tax returns the same day Congress requested them in 1973.<ref name="MnunchinRefusal" /> The Trump's administration's [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]], through a memo written by Office of Legal Counsel head [[Steven Engel]], issued an opinion supporting Mnuchin's refusal to release Trump's tax returns.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rappeport |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Rappeport |date=June 14, 2019 |title=Justice Dept. Backs Mnuchin's Refusal to Release Trump's Tax Returns |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-justice-department.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616225456/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-justice-department.html |archive-date=June 16, 2019}}</ref> This triggered a legal battle between the administration and Congress.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Andrew |last2=Lemire |first2=Jonathan |date=May 7, 2019 |title=Refusal to hand over Trump's tax returns sets up legal fight |work=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/ce215295783e419d8896d50bc7907107 |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202161101/https://apnews.com/ce215295783e419d8896d50bc7907107 |archive-date=December 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Paletta |first1=Damian |last2=Stein |first2=Jeff |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Mnuchin rejects Democrats' demand to hand over Trump's tax returns, all but ensuring legal battle |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/mnuchin-rejects-democrats-demand-to-hand-over-trumps-tax-returns-all-but-ensuring-legal-battle/2019/05/06/5483f8ac-7022-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506215838/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/mnuchin-rejects-democrats-demand-to-hand-over-trumps-tax-returns-all-but-ensuring-legal-battle/2019/05/06/5483f8ac-7022-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html |archive-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Zapotosky |first2=Matt |date=June 14, 2019 |title=Justice Dept. issues memo backing Mnuchin's refusal to give Trump's tax returns to Congress |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-dept-issues-memo-backing-mnuchins-refusal-to-provide-trumps-tax-returns-to-congress/2019/06/14/3c8b3376-8ee7-11e9-b08e-cfd89bd36d4e_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717061421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-dept-issues-memo-backing-mnuchins-refusal-to-provide-trumps-tax-returns-to-congress/2019/06/14/3c8b3376-8ee7-11e9-b08e-cfd89bd36d4e_story.html |archive-date=July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Stein |first=Jeff |date=July 25, 2019 |title=IRS turned over Nixon's tax returns the same day that a congressional panel asked for them |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/25/irs-turned-over-nixons-tax-returns-same-day-that-congressional-panel-asked-them/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726001252/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/25/irs-turned-over-nixons-tax-returns-same-day-that-congressional-panel-asked-them/ |archive-date=July 26, 2019}}</ref> Neal criticized the administration's position, saying that its objections "lack merit" and "[[Eastland v. United States Servicemen's Fund|judicial precedent commands]] that none of the concerns raised can legitimately be used to deny the committee's request."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Jeff |date=April 13, 2019 |title=House Democrats give IRS hard deadline of April 23 to turn over Trump tax returns, say administration's concerns 'lack merit' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/04/13/house-democrats-give-irs-hard-deadline-april-turn-over-trump-tax-returns-say-administrations-concerns-lack-merit/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417080527/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/04/13/house-democrats-give-irs-hard-deadline-april-turn-over-trump-tax-returns-say-administrations-concerns-lack-merit/ |archive-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref>
On April 7, 2019, [[Mick Mulvaney]], Trump's acting [[White House Chief of Staff|White House chief of staff]], said Trump's tax returns will "never" be released.<ref name="Rupar">{{cite web |last1=Rupar |first1=Aaron |date=April 8, 2019 |title=Mick Mulvaney rewrites history, claims Trump never promised to release his tax returns |url=https://www.vox.com/2019/4/8/18300213/mick-mulvaney-trump-tax-returns-fox-news-sunday |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408235408/https://www.vox.com/2019/4/8/18300213/mick-mulvaney-trump-tax-returns-fox-news-sunday |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |access-date=April 9, 2019 |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Itkowitz |first1=Colby |date=April 7, 2019 |title=Mulvaney says Democrats will 'never' see Trump's tax returns |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mulvaney-says-democrats-will-never-see-trumps-tax-returns/2019/04/07/e939deca-593a-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409040339/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mulvaney-says-democrats-will-never-see-trumps-tax-returns/2019/04/07/e939deca-593a-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html |archive-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> Trump and Mulvaney have argued that voters have no interest in Trump's tax returns and that the issue had been "litigated" when Trump was elected.<ref name="Rupar" /><ref name="FOXdeadline">{{cite web |last=Re |first=Gregg |date=April 10, 2019 |title=Treasury won't meet House Dems' deadline to provide Trump tax returns, Mnuchin says |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mnuchin-says-treasury-wont-meet-house-dems-deadline-to-provide-trump-tax-returns |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411023700/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mnuchin-says-treasury-wont-meet-house-dems-deadline-to-provide-trump-tax-returns |archive-date=April 11, 2019 |access-date=April 11, 2019 |publisher=[[Fox News]]}}</ref>
In April 2019, a Trump adviser speaking on condition of anonymity told [[Fox News]] that Trump repeatedly questioned his aides about the status of the congressional request, and also asked about the "loyalty" of top IRS officials.<ref name="FOXdeadline" /> Trump appointee [[Michael J. Desmond]], who as Chief Counsel of the IRS and Assistant General Counsel in the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] is responsible for giving legal advice to the IRS commissioner, previously served as a tax advisor to the Trump Organization and also worked alongside two other longtime tax advisors to the Trump Organization. According to ''The New York Times'', on February 5, 2019, Trump asked Senate Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] to speed up Desmond's confirmation and indicated that confirming Desmond was a higher priority to him than confirming [[William Barr]] for Attorney General.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |last2=Fandos |first2=Nicholas |date=April 4, 2019 |title=Trump Asked That Confirmation of I.R.S. Counsel Be a Priority |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/us/politics/trump-michael-desmond-irs.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408160600/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/us/politics/trump-michael-desmond-irs.html |archive-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>
Also in April 2019, Trump and [[White House Press Secretary]] [[Sarah Sanders]] said he would not release his tax returns while they are under audit, although nothing precludes a person from releasing tax returns that are under audit, a fact reaffirmed by IRS commissioner Rettig.<ref name="auto1" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Bruggeman |first=Lucien |date=April 11, 2019 |title=Treasury to miss Democrats' deadline for Trump's tax returns, he doubles down: 'I won't do it' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-deadline-trumps-tax-returns-looms-doubles/story?id=62298329 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509214421/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-deadline-trumps-tax-returns-looms-doubles/story?id=62298329 |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=April 28, 2019 |work=ABC News}}</ref> Sanders also opined that Congress is not "smart enough" to examine Trump's tax returns,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Danner |first1=Chas |date=April 14, 2019 |title=Sarah Sanders: Democrats Aren't 'Smart Enough' to Understand Trump's Tax Returns |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/sarah-sanders-democrats-wont-understand-trumps-taxes.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419110353/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/sarah-sanders-democrats-wont-understand-trumps-taxes.html |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]}}</ref> although ten members of Congress are accountants, including three [[Certified Public Accountant|certified public accountant]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Levenson |first=Eric |date=April 15, 2019 |title=Sarah Sanders says Congress wouldn't understand Trump's taxes. But 10 members are accountants |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/14/politics/trump-taxes-accountants-congress/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417072400/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/14/politics/trump-taxes-accountants-congress/index.html |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
On April 10, 2019, Trump incorrectly stated that "there's no law whatsoever" requiring him to provide Congress his tax returns. While there is no law requiring presidents to publish their tax returns, federal law of [[Internal Revenue Code|IRS Code]] section 6103(f) authorizes Congress to look at anyone's tax returns "when sitting in closed executive session" (though the taxpayer could refuse for their identifying information to be shared outside of that session).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Farley |first1=Robert |date=April 11, 2019 |title=Trump Wrong About Tax Law |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2019/04/trump-wrong-about-tax-law/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428052135/https://www.factcheck.org/2019/04/trump-wrong-about-tax-law/ |archive-date=April 28, 2019 |access-date=April 28, 2019 |website=[[FactCheck.org]] |quote=...there is no law that compels presidential candidates or presidents to publicly release their tax returns, though it has been a custom for them to do so for more than 30 years. ... But the reporter’s question wasn’t whether Trump was legally obligated to release his tax returns publicly, it was whether federal law required they be turned over to Congress.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=26 U.S. Code § 6103 – Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6103 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401140541/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6103 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref>
On May 7, 2019, ''The New York Times'' revealed that it had acquired information about Trump's tax returns showing more than a billion dollars in business losses with a decade in the red.<ref name="Red" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Cillizza |first=Chris |date=May 7, 2019 |title=The secret of why Donald Trump won't release his taxes |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/07/politics/donald-trump-tax-returns-steve-mnuchin-richard-neal/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509001734/https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/07/politics/donald-trump-tax-returns-steve-mnuchin-richard-neal/index.html |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
===Interference with IRS audit===
On July 29, 2019, a career IRS official filed a whistleblower complaint with the House Ways and Means Committee, [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]], and [[Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration|Treasury inspector general for tax administration]], stating that at least one [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]] official had inappropriately interfered in the audit process for the tax returns of the president and vice president,<ref name="SteinHamburgerDawsey">{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Jeff |last2=Hamburger |first2=Tom |last3=Dawsey |first3=Josh |date=October 3, 2019 |title=IRS whistleblower said to report Treasury political appointee might have tried to interfere in audit of Trump or Pence |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/irs-whistleblower-said-to-report-treasury-political-appointee-might-have-tried-to-interfere-in-audit-of-trump-or-pence/2019/10/03/0c768b34-e52e-11e9-a331-2df12d56a80b_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004004051/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/irs-whistleblower-said-to-report-treasury-political-appointee-might-have-tried-to-interfere-in-audit-of-trump-or-pence/2019/10/03/0c768b34-e52e-11e9-a331-2df12d56a80b_story.html |archive-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> which takes place annually in accordance with IRS policy.<ref name="Jagoda">{{cite news |last=Jagoda |first=Naomi |date=October 6, 2019 |title=Tax-return whistleblower in spotlight amid impeachment fight |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/464469-tax-return-whistleblower-in-spotlight-amid-impeachment-fight/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017193138/https://thehill.com/policy/finance/464469-tax-return-whistleblower-in-spotlight-amid-impeachment-fight |archive-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> The possibility that political appointees interfered with audits conducted by career civil servants alarmed former IRS officials and legal experts.<ref name="SteinHamburgerDawsey" /> Due to stringent laws regarding disclosure of tax information, the details of the complaint have not been made public.<ref name="SteinHamburgerDawsey" /> However, Representative Richard Neal, the Democratic chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in September 2019 that he was consulting legal counsel on whether the whistleblower's complaint could be publicly released.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Jeff |last2=Hamburger |first2=Tom |last3=Dawsey |first3=Josh |last4=Wilhelm |first4=Colin |date=September 27, 2019 |title=Democrat Weighs Releasing Complaint About IRS Trump Tax Audit |publisher=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-27/democrat-weighs-releasing-complaint-about-irs-trump-tax-audit |url-status=live |access-date=October 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002233657/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-27/democrat-weighs-releasing-complaint-about-irs-trump-tax-audit |archive-date=October 2, 2019}}.</ref>
The whistleblower's report was referred to by Neal and other House Democrats in the federal lawsuit regarding Trump's refusal to comply with a House Ways and Means Committee subpoena for the returns; in a filing, Neal wrote that the whistleblower's complaint presents credible evidence of potential inappropriate efforts to influence "the mandatory audit program" and raises "serious and urgent concerns", thereby bolstering the committee's case for obtaining the tax returns.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lorenzo |first1=Aaron |date=August 20, 2019 |title=House Democrats say bolsters case for getting Trump's tax returns |work=[[Politico]] |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/20/tax-democrats-trump-1673427 |url-status=live |access-date=October 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913191544/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/20/tax-democrats-trump-1673427 |archive-date=September 13, 2019}}</ref>
==Lawsuits==
===''Committee on Ways & Means v. U.S. Department of the Treasury and Trump''===
On May 17, 2019, Treasury Secretary [[Steven Mnuchin]] again refused to hand over the records subpoenaed by the House Committee on Ways and Means.<ref name="Defies" /> The IRS refusal to provide the records sought was based on an opinion of [[Office of Legal Counsel]] [[Steven Engel]] dated June 2019 which argued that the House lacked a "legitimate legislative purpose" to warrant receiving the information.<ref name="OLC" />
On July 2, 2019, the committee sued Mnuchin and IRS commissioner [[Charles Rettig]] to enforce the subpoena and obtain six years of Trump's tax returns.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |last=Snell |first=Kelsey |date=July 2, 2019 |title=House Democrats Sue For Trump's Tax Returns |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/02/738030272/house-democrats-sue-for-trumps-tax-returns |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702181212/https://www.npr.org/2019/07/02/738030272/house-democrats-sue-for-trumps-tax-returns |archive-date=July 2, 2019 |access-date=July 2, 2019 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite news |last=Jurecic |first=Quinta |date=July 2, 2019 |title=House Ways and Means Committee Sues for Trump Tax Returns |work=Lawfare |url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/house-ways-and-means-committee-sues-trump-tax-returns |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113130743/https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/house-ways-and-means-committee-sues-trump-tax-returns |archive-date=January 13, 2024}}</ref> The action, in the [[U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia]] before Judge [[Trevor McFadden]], was taken pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(f) which states that the Treasury Department "shall furnish" any tax return requested in writing by the Ways & Means Committee.<ref name="Thomsen">{{cite news |last=Thomsen |first=Jacqueline |date=September 20, 2019 |title='The Obvious Answer': Ex-House Attorneys Back Democrats' Lawsuit for Trump Tax Returns |work=National Law Journal |url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/09/20/the-obvious-answer-ex-house-attorneys-back-democrats-lawsuit-for-trump-tax-returns/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020174010/https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/09/20/the-obvious-answer-ex-house-attorneys-back-democrats-lawsuit-for-trump-tax-returns/ |archive-date=October 20, 2019}}</ref> Trump was added to the case as an [[Intervention (law)|intervenor]].<ref name="WaysMeans">{{cite web |title=House Ways & Means Case |url=https://levin-center.org/house-ways-means-case/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006144510/http://oversightcases.org/house-ways-means-case/ |archive-date=October 6, 2020 |access-date=October 2, 2020 |work=Levin Center |publisher=Wayne State University}}</ref> In September 2019, a bipartisan group of six former general counsels to the House of Representatives filed an [[amicus brief]] in the case, urging the court to reject Trump's claims that the House lacks standing to bring the case.<ref name="Thomsen" /> In January 2020, the judge stayed proceedings in the case, pending the resolution of the ''[[In re: Don McGahn|In re McGahn]]'' case by the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit]].<ref name="WaysMeans" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Jan |date=January 14, 2020 |title=U.S. judge puts on hold House lawsuit seeking Trump tax returns |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-taxes/u-s-judge-puts-on-hold-house-lawsuit-seeking-trump-tax-returns-idUSKBN1ZD2TK |url-status=live |access-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008160558/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-taxes/u-s-judge-puts-on-hold-house-lawsuit-seeking-trump-tax-returns-idUSKBN1ZD2TK |archive-date=October 8, 2020}}</ref>
On March 4, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ), representing the Treasury Department, requested an additional month to determine its response to the committee's request for Trump's tax returns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Castronuovo |first=Celine |date=March 31, 2021 |title=DOJ asks for more time to make decision on turning over Trump taxes |url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/545895-doj-asks-for-more-time-to-make-decision-on-turning-over-trump-taxes/ |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] }}</ref> Judge McFadden granted the government more time and ordered the parties to submit a status report on March 31.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yaffe-Bellany |first=David |date=March 3, 2021 |title=Biden Asks for More Time on Decision to Release Trump Taxes |work=Bloomberg L.P. |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-03/biden-asks-for-more-time-on-decision-to-release-trump-taxes |access-date=22 September 2023 }}</ref> On July 30, Acting [[United States Assistant Attorney General|assistant attorney general]] for the Office of Legal Counsel [[Dawn Johnsen]] wrote an opinion stating that the Treasury Department must turn over Trump's tax returns to the committee, stating that the committee had "invoked sufficient reasons" to request the tax information, reversing Engel's June 2019 opinion. Johnsen wrote that Engel's opinion "failed to afford the Committee the respect due to a coordinate branch of government."<ref name="OLC" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ways and Means Committee's Request for the Former President's Tax Returns and Related Tax Information Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6103(f)(1) |url=https://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2021/images/07/30/olc.tax.returns.pdf |via=[[CNN]] |date=July 30, 2021 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]|first=Dawn |last=Johnsen |work=Office of Legal Counsel }}</ref> On August 4, Trump's legal team intervened in the case in an attempt to end the committee's investigations into Trump's affairs, arguing that his tax returns are still "the subject of ongoing examinations by the IRS", that they should be permanently blocked from being released, and that Trump's legal expenses in the matter should be reimbursed.<ref name="CNN080421" />
Judge McFadden dismissed the case in December 2021, allowing the returns to be released to the committee, stating Trump was "wrong on the law" and that Congress is due "great deference" in its inquiries. McFadden granted a 14-day delay in the release of the returns to allow the parties to negotiate terms of the release, or for Trump to appeal to the [[D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gerstein |first1=Josh |last2=Cheney |first2=Kyle |date=December 14, 2021 |title=Judge scraps Trump lawsuit to shield tax returns from Congress |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/14/trump-tax-returns-legal-524235 |access-date=December 14, 2021 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref> The decision was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court; its November 2022 ruling resulted in the release of the records to the committee,<ref>{{cite web |title=House Ways and Means Committee gains access to Trump tax returns after Supreme Court order |date=November 30, 2022 |first=Brooke |last=Singman |access-date=22 September 2023 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-ways-means-committee-democrats-obtain-trump-tax-returns-after-supreme-court-order |publisher=[[Fox News]]}}</ref> which then publicly released the returns on December 30.<ref name="released" /> In January 2023, Trump dropped his dispute with Congress in a joint filing with a House committee, saying the new Republican leadership "has no interest" in the returns.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tillman |first=Zoe |date=2023-01-20 |title=Trump Drops NY Tax Return Fight Because GOP 'Has No Interest' |language=en |work=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-21/trump-drops-ny-tax-return-fight-because-gop-has-no-interest |access-date=2023-01-21}}</ref>
===''Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP''===
{{main|Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP}}
On May 20, 2019, U.S. district judge [[Amit Mehta]] of the [[U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia]], refused a request by Trump's attorneys to quash the subpoena from the House Oversight Committee directed to Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA LLP, ruling that the subpoena must be complied with.<ref name="trumptaxloss">{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Jan |date=May 21, 2019 |title=Trump loses lawsuit challenging subpoena for financial records |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-court-mazars-idUSKCN1SQ29H |url-status=live |access-date=May 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824210503/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-court-mazars-idUSKCN1SQ29H |archive-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref><ref name="DCtDDCOversight">{{cite court|litigants=Trump v. Committee on Oversight & Reform of U.S. House of Representatives|court=[[D.D.C.]]|reporter=[[F. Supp. 3d]]|opinion=380|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10140989818307298536|vol=76}}; ''aff'd'' {{cite court|court=[[D.C. Cir.]]|reporter=[[F.3d]]|opinion=710|year=2019|vol=940}}</ref> The district court held that the subpoena was well within Congress's broad investigative powers and rejected Trump's claim that the subpoena to Mazars was "a usurpation of an exclusively executive or judicial function."<ref name="DCtDDCOversight" />
Trump then appealed to the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia]], which heard [[oral argument]] on July 12, 2019, and then issued a ruling against Trump on October 11, 2019. In its 2–1 ruling, the court of appeals upheld the lower court's ruling, holding that "contrary to the President's arguments, the Committee possesses authority under both the House Rules and the Constitution to issue the subpoena" for eight years of tax returns to Mazars, and that Mazars therefore "must comply" with the subpoena.<ref name="FahrentholdDCCir">{{cite news |last1=Fahrenthold |first1=David A. |last2=Hsu |first2=Spencer S. |last3=Marimow |first3=Ann E. |date=October 11, 2019 |title=Appeals court rules against Trump in fight with Congress over president's accounting firm records |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/appeals-court-rules-against-trump-in-fight-with-congress-over-presidents-accounting-firm-records/2019/10/11/42933894-b9ea-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021015407/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/appeals-court-rules-against-trump-in-fight-with-congress-over-presidents-accounting-firm-records/2019/10/11/42933894-b9ea-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html |archive-date=October 21, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Hemel">{{cite news |last=Hemel |first=Daniel |date=October 14, 2019 |title=How Trump can put off his tax return case until after the election |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/10/14/how-trump-can-put-off-his-tax-return-case-until-after-election/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020172245/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/10/14/how-trump-can-put-off-his-tax-return-case-until-after-election/ |archive-date=October 20, 2019}}</ref> The 66-page majority opinion was written by Judge [[David S. Tatel]], joined by [[Patricia A. Millett]]; Judge [[Neomi Rao]], a Trump appointee, dissented.<ref name="FahrentholdDCCir" /> Trump's motion for rehearing ''[[en banc]]'' (i.e., before the entire D.C. Circuit) was denied on November 13, 2019, on an 8–3 vote.<ref name="Marimow">{{cite news |last=Marimow |first=Ann E. |date=November 13, 2019 |title=Congress can have access to eight years of Trump's tax records, appeals court orders |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/congress-can-seek-eight-years-of-trumps-tax-records-appeals-court-rules/2019/11/13/b4fc8002-fc07-11e9-8906-ab6b60de9124_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114012446/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/congress-can-seek-eight-years-of-trumps-tax-records-appeals-court-rules/2019/11/13/b4fc8002-fc07-11e9-8906-ab6b60de9124_story.html |archive-date=November 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=Trump v. Mazars USA LLP|court=[[D.C. Cir.]]|opinion=19-5142|date=November 13, 2019|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6548874/Mazars-20191113.pdf|quote=Denial of rehearing ''en banc''}}</ref> The ruling was the second appeals court decision within ten days against Trump regarding release of his tax returns.<ref name="Marimow" />
Trump subsequently filed a petition for a [[writ of certiorari]] to the Supreme Court of the United States, asking the Court to review the case.  On December 13, 2019, the Supreme Court decided to review both the ''Trump v. Mazars US, LLP'' case (Supreme Court No.&nbsp;19-715) and the ''Trump v. Deutsche Bank AG'' case (Supreme Court No.&nbsp;19-760). The court consolidated them and indicated that they would be set for [[oral argument]] sometime in March 2020.<ref name="LiptakCertGranted">{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=December 13, 2019 |title=Supreme Court to Rule on Release of Trump's Financial Records |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/us/supreme-court-trump-financial-records.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217221703/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/us/supreme-court-trump-financial-records.html |archive-date=December 17, 2019}}</ref><ref name="OrdersList">{{cite report |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/121319zr_1a7d.pdf |title=Order List: December 13, 2019 |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219225259/https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/121319zr_1a7d.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |url-status=live |work=Supreme Court of the United States}}</ref> The Second Circuit's [[Appellate procedure in the United States|mandate]] was stayed pending the Supreme Court's decision in the case.<ref name="OrdersList" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=November 18, 2019 |title=Chief Justice Gives Trump Temporary Reprieve in Financial Records Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/us/politics/trump-supreme-court-tax-returns.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122211308/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/us/politics/trump-supreme-court-tax-returns.html |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |access-date=November 21, 2019 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The Court's decision in the case is believed to be a likely [[landmark ruling]] on how far presidents may resist subpoenas or other demands for information from the Congress and from prosecutors.<ref name="LiptakCertGranted" />
On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its 7–2 ruling, vacating the D.C. Circuit's decision and remanding the case for further review.<ref name="SCtMazars2020">{{cite court |litigants=Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP |court=[[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S.]] |reporter=[[United States Reports]] |date=July 9, 2020 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12252900491128651930 |vol=140}}</ref> This made it unlikely that the Trumps' taxes would be released before the election and the end of both his term and those of the 116th Congress.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tucker |date=July 9, 2020 |title=Supreme Court says Manhattan DA can get Trump's tax records, but rejects bid by House Democrats |publisher=[[CNBC]] |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/09/supreme-court-trump-tax-records.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709141738/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/09/supreme-court-trump-tax-records.html |archive-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref> On July 20, 2020, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order denying a motion by House Democrats to expedite the litigation in lower courts;<ref name="Rowland">{{Cite web |last=Rowland |first=Geoffrey |date=July 20, 2020 |title=Supreme Court denies Democrats' bid to fast-track ongoing fight for Trump financial records |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/508092-supreme-court-denies-dems-bid-to-fast-track-ongoing-fight-for-trump/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720150934/https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/508092-supreme-court-denies-dems-bid-to-fast-track-ongoing-fight-for-trump |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |access-date=July 20, 2020 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Bravin">{{Cite web |last=Bravin |first=Jess |date=July 20, 2020 |title=Supreme Court Rejects Lawmakers' Plea to Speed Litigation Over Trump's Taxes |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-rejects-lawmakers-plea-to-speed-litigation-over-trumps-taxes-11595276340 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723211311/https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-rejects-lawmakers-plea-to-speed-litigation-over-trumps-taxes-11595276340 |archive-date=July 23, 2020 |access-date=October 2, 2020 |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> the order reduced the likelihood that congressional investigators would obtain the tax records before the November election.<ref name="Bravin" /> Justice [[Sonia Sotomayor]] noted that she would have granted the motion.<ref name="Rowland" /><ref name="Bravin" />
===''Trump v. Vance''===
{{main|Trump v. Vance}}
{{Further|New York investigations of The Trump Organization}}
In September 2019, ''The New York Times'' reported<ref name="EightYearsSubpoenaed">{{Cite news |last1=Rashbaum |first1=William K. |last2=Protess |first2=Ben |date=September 16, 2019 |title=8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A. |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-cy-vance.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916185005/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-cy-vance.html |archive-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> that in late August 2019,<ref name="TurnOver" /> soon after opening an investigation into [[Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal|hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels]], the [[New York County District Attorney|Manhattan district attorney's office]], led by [[Cyrus R. Vance Jr.]], subpoenaed Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA, for Trump's individual tax returns from January 2011 to August 2019 and corporate tax records for the Trump Organization.<ref name="TurnOver" /><ref name="EightYearsSubpoenaed" /> The ''Times'' reported in August 2020 that in 2019 the district attorney had also subpoenaed Trump's primary bank, Deutsche Bank, which complied with financial statements and other records Trump had provided when he sought loans from the bank.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Enrich |first1=David |last2=Protess |first2=Ben |last3=Rashbaum |first3=William K. |last4=Weiser |first4=Benjamin |date=August 5, 2020 |title=Trump's Bank Was Subpoenaed by N.Y. Prosecutors in Criminal Inquiry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-deutsche-bank.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805232309/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-deutsche-bank.html |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2020 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Citing grand jury secrecy rules, the district attorney did not reveal the scope of the investigation, but in court filings prosecutors stated that publicly available evidence regarding the conduct of Trump and his businesses would justify a grand jury investigation into [[tax fraud]] and financial crimes such as [[insurance fraud]], falsification of business records, and other crimes.<ref name="FirstTime" />
Trump sought to quash the subpoena in [[United States federal court|federal court]], contending that a sitting president enjoys, in the court's words, "[[absolute immunity]] from criminal process of any kind".<ref name="TurnOver" /> In court filings in September 2019, New York prosecutors rejected Trump's claim of "sweeping immunity" from a criminal probe while he is in office, writing that Trump was "seeking to invent and enforce a new presidential 'tax return privilege', on the theory that disclosing information in a tax return will necessarily reveal information that will somehow impede the functioning of a President, sufficiently to meet the test of irreparable harm."<ref>{{cite web |last=Ecker |first=Toby |date=September 23, 2019 |title=New York prosecutors reject Trump's immunity claim in tax returns case |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/23/new-york-trump-tax-returns-1763041 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925012627/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/23/new-york-trump-tax-returns-1763041 |archive-date=September 25, 2019 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |website=[[Politico]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Neumeister |first=Larry |date=September 23, 2019 |title=Prosecutor says Trump wants 'sweeping immunity' in tax fight |work=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/fadec6510fc543e497d594c0db8ecd10 |url-status=live |access-date=September 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926000844/https://apnews.com/fadec6510fc543e497d594c0db8ecd10 |archive-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref>
On October 7, 2019, Judge [[Victor Marrero]] of the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York]] rejected Trump's effort to prevent his tax returns from being turned over to the New York grand jury, and ordered Trump comply with the subpoena. In a 75-page opinion, the court called Trump's contention an overreach of executive power that is "repugnant to the nation's governmental structure and constitutional values".<ref name="TurnOver" /><ref name="SDNYDecision">{{cite court|litigants=Trump v. Vance|court=S.D.N.Y.|reporter=F. Supp. 3d.|vol=395|opinion=|date=October 7, 2019|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17208768635234557549|pinpoint=283}}</ref> Enforcement of the subpoena was temporarily delayed pending consideration by the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]].<ref name="TurnOver" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orden |first=Erica |date=October 7, 2019 |title=Judge dismisses Trump request to keep taxes secret in New York |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/07/politics/trump-tax-returns-lawsuit/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007152548/https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/07/politics/trump-tax-returns-lawsuit/index.html |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |access-date=October 7, 2019 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Later the same month, [[oral argument]] before the Second Circuit took place before a three-judge panel of Chief Judge [[Robert A. Katzmann]], Judge [[Denny Chin]], and Judge [[Christopher F. Droney]]. Trump's private lawyer, William S. Consovoy, argued that a president enjoyed absolute "presidential immunity" from all investigation and criminal process while in office; responding to a hypothetical from the court, Consovoy said the president should be shielded even if he hypothetically committed murder on [[Fifth Avenue]] in Manhattan.<ref name="ImmunityClaim">{{cite news |last1=Marimow |first1=Ann E. |last2=O'Connell |first2=Jonathan |date=October 22, 2019 |title=Trump lawyer argues a sitting president would be immune from prosecution even if he were to shoot someone |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/ny-based-appeals-court-to-decide-whether-manhattan-da-can-get-trumps-tax-returns/2019/10/22/8c491346-ef6e-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023212042/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/ny-based-appeals-court-to-decide-whether-manhattan-da-can-get-trumps-tax-returns/2019/10/22/8c491346-ef6e-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html |archive-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Aratani |first=Lauren |date=October 23, 2019 |title=Trump couldn't be prosecuted if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, lawyer claims |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/23/donald-trump-immune-shoot-fifth-avenue-murder |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023212045/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/23/donald-trump-immune-shoot-fifth-avenue-murder |archive-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=October 23, 2019 |title=Oral argument audiorecording and transcript, ''Trump v. Vance'' |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?465172-1/circuit-hears-oral-argument-president-trumps-tax-returns-audio-only&live |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101104144/https://www.c-span.org/video/?465172-1%2Fcircuit-hears-oral-argument-president-trumps-tax-returns-audio-only&live |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[C-SPAN]]}}</ref> In response, counsel for the Manhattan district attorney's office told the court "there is no such thing as presidential immunity for tax returns" and noted that tax returns are frequently subpoenaed in financial investigations.<ref name="ImmunityClaim" />
On November 4, 2019, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit ruled unanimously that Mazars must comply with the subpoena and hand over Trump's tax returns,<ref name="WeiserLiptak">{{cite news |last1=Weiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Liptak |first2=Adam |date=November 4, 2019 |title=Trump Taxes: Appeals Court Rules President Must Turn Over 8 Years of Tax Returns |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-appeal.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105035500/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-appeal.html |archive-date=November 5, 2019}}</ref><ref name="2dCir">{{cite court|litigants=Trump v. Vance|court=[[2d Cir.]]|reporter=[[F.3d]]|vol=941|opinion=631|pinpoint=|date=November 4, 2019|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7897536651135881813|access-date=}}</ref> saying that the president is not immune from "the enforcement of a state grand jury subpoena directing a third party to produce non-privileged material, even when the subject matter under investigation pertains to the President" and that a state grand jury may permissibly issue subpoenas "in aid of its investigation of potential crimes committed by persons within its jurisdiction, even if that investigation may in some way implicate the President".<ref name="2dCir" /> Noting that "the President concedes that his immunity lasts only so long as he holds office and that he could therefore be prosecuted after leaving office," the Second Circuit ruled that there "is no obvious reason why a state could not begin to investigate a President during his term and, with the information secured during that search, ultimately determine to prosecute him after he leaves office."<ref name="2dCir" />
Trump subsequently filed a petition for a [[writ of certiorari]] to the Supreme Court, asserting that the grand-jury subpoena directed to him violates [[Article II of the United States Constitution|Article II]] and the [[Supremacy Clause]] of the Constitution. In December 2019, the Court agreed to hear the appeal.<ref name="VanceDocket">{{cite web |title=Case Files: ''Trump v. Vance'' |url=https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/trump-v-vance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122221459/https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/trump-v-vance/ |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |access-date=December 22, 2019 |work=[[SCOTUSblog]] |quote=S. Ct. No. 19-635}}</ref> After oral arguments were delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Biskupic |first=Joan |author-link=Joan Biskupic |date=April 3, 2020 |title=Delay in Trump's financial documents cases clouds House power on investigations |publisher=[[CNN]]|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/supreme-court-trump-documents-coronavirus/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405055342/https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/supreme-court-trump-documents-coronavirus/index.html |archive-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref> the case was argued on May 12, 2020.<ref name="VanceDocket" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=May 12, 2020 |title=Supreme Court Hints at Split Decision in Two Cases on Obtaining Trump's Financial Records |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/us/supreme-court-trump-tax-returns.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927084249/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/us/supreme-court-trump-tax-returns.html |archive-date=September 27, 2020}}</ref> On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its 7–2 ruling, holding (in an opinion written by Chief Justice [[John G. Roberts, Jr.]]) that "Article&nbsp;II and the supremacy clause of the Constitution do not categorically preclude, or require a heightened standard for, the issuance of a state criminal subpoena to a sitting president."<ref name="VanceDocket" /><ref name="SCtMazars2020" /> Roberts wrote: "No citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding."<ref name="FirstTime" /><ref name="SCtMazars2020" /> The court thus rejected Trump's claim that he was absolutely immune from the New York grand jury criminal subpoenas, but allowed Trump to return to the lower court to make a different argument for withholding his returns, such as scope or relevance.<ref name="FirstTime" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Howe |first=Amy |date=July 9, 2020 |title=Opinion analysis: Disputes over Trump financial records to continue |url=https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/07/opinion-analysis-disputes-over-trump-financial-records-to-continue/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929095322/https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/07/opinion-analysis-disputes-over-trump-financial-records-to-continue/ |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |access-date=September 28, 2020 |work=[[SCOTUSblog]]}}</ref>
On remand to the District Court, Trump's attorneys argued that the subpoena was "wildly overbroad" and issued in bad faith. On August 20, 2020, Judge Marrero rejected this argument, again ordering that Trump's tax returns be turned over to prosecutors. Trump's attorneys immediately requested an emergency stay, which Marrero denied.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Weiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Rashbaum |first2=William K. |date=August 20, 2020 |title=Trump Must Turn Over Tax Returns to D.A., Judge Rules |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/nyregion/donald-trump-taxes-cyrus-vance.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821173203/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/nyregion/donald-trump-taxes-cyrus-vance.html |archive-date=August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Breuninger |first=Kevin |date=August 21, 2020 |title=Judge denies Trump's bid for a stay of subpoena in Manhattan DA's tax records case |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/21/judge-denies-trumps-bid-for-a-stay-of-subpoena-in-manhattan-das-tax-records-case.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822000806/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/21/judge-denies-trumps-bid-for-a-stay-of-subpoena-in-manhattan-das-tax-records-case.html |archive-date=August 22, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020 |publisher=[[CNBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Scannell |first1=Kara |last2=Polantz |first2=Katelyn |date=August 22, 2020 |title=Appeals court sets September 1 hearing on deadline for Trump's financial records subpoena |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/21/politics/trump-motion-tax-records/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822000209/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/21/politics/trump-motion-tax-records/index.html |archive-date=August 22, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted a stay to Trump on September 1, 2020,<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Weiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Rashbaum |first2=William K. |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Trump Wins Another Delay in Turning Over Tax Returns |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-lawsuit.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903030403/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-lawsuit.html |archive-date=September 3, 2020}}</ref> and oral argument before that court was held on September 25, 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wester |first=Jane |date=September 25, 2020 |title=2nd Circuit Panel Grills Trump Lawyers on Plausibility of Argument Limiting Scope of Grand Jury Probe |work=New York Law Journal |url=https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/09/25/2nd-circuit-panel-grills-trump-lawyers-on-plausibility-of-argument-limiting-scope-of-grand-jury-probe/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004090126/https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/09/25/2nd-circuit-panel-grills-trump-lawyers-on-plausibility-of-argument-limiting-scope-of-grand-jury-probe/ |archive-date=October 4, 2020}}</ref> During the hearing, the three judges appeared skeptical of Trump's central argument that the subpoena constituted an overbroad "fishing expedition."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Weiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Rashbaum |first2=William K. |date=September 25, 2020 |title=Judges Express Skepticism Over Trump's Bid to Block Tax Return Subpoena |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-subpoena.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928093124/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-subpoena.html |archive-date=September 28, 2020 |access-date=September 28, 2020 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> On October 7, 2020, the Second Circuit Court ruled in favor of Vance,<ref>{{cite news |last=Neumeister |first=Larry |date=October 7, 2020 |title=Appeals court: Trump must turn over taxes to prosecutor |work=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-new-york-ruth-bader-ginsburg-cyrus-vance-jr-subpoenas-ab8f19ba2b8d311f547bd6f443ed7b92 |url-status=live |access-date=October 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007142003/https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-new-york-ruth-bader-ginsburg-cyrus-vance-jr-subpoenas-ab8f19ba2b8d311f547bd6f443ed7b92 |archive-date=October 7, 2020}}</ref> but stayed enforcement to allow time for Trump's lawyers to file an emergency application with the Supreme Court six days later. This requested a stay of the appeals court decision pending a hearing by the Supreme Court. On February 22, 2021, the Supreme Court denied the stay request, clearing the path for Trump's tax records as well as other records to be released to prosecutors for review by a grand jury.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web |last=de Vogue |first=Ariane |date=February 22, 2021 |title=Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns to NY prosecutor |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/22/politics/supreme-court-trump-taxes-vance/index.html |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=22 September 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=February 22, 2021 |title=Supreme Court Denies Trump's Final Bid to Block Release of Financial Records |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-taxes-financial-records.html |access-date=22 September 2023 }}</ref>
Within hours of the Supreme Court's ruling, Mazars handed over to Vance millions of pages of documents containing Trump's tax returns from January 2011 to August 2019, as well as financial statements, engagement agreements, documents relating to the preparation and review of tax returns, and work papers and communications related to the tax returns.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Scannell |first1=Kara |last2=Prokupecz |first2=Shimon |last3=Cole |first3=Devan |date=February 25, 2021 |title=Trump's tax returns and related records turned over to Manhattan district attorney |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/25/politics/trump-taxes-mazars-vance/index.html |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Winter |first1=Tom |last2=Edelman |first2=Adam |date=February 25, 2021 |title=Trump's tax returns handed over to Manhattan prosecutors |publisher=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/manhattan-d-vance-possession-trump-s-taxes-n1258834 |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> By March 19, 2021, Trump's former personal lawyer [[Michael Cohen (lawyer)|Michael Cohen]] had met eight times with investigators for the Manhattan district attorney to cooperate with their inquiry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-19 |title=New York prosecutors interview Michael Cohen an 8th time in Trump inquiry |url=https://wgntv.com/news/new-york-prosecutors-interview-michael-cohen-an-8th-time-in-trump-inquiry/ |access-date=2021-03-23 |work=[[WGN-TV]] |language=en-US |agency=[[Associated Press]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320034430/https://wgntv.com/news/new-york-prosecutors-interview-michael-cohen-an-8th-time-in-trump-inquiry/ |archive-date=20 March 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mustian |first1=Jim |last2=Sisak |first2=Michael R. |date=2021-03-17 |title=Trump's taxes in hand, Manhattan DA's probe heats up |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-taxes-new-york-prosecutors-investigation-218987d4dbac510158c35d5850f5e492 |access-date=2021-03-23 |website=[[Associated Press|AP News]]}}</ref>
In a separate action, on February 19, 2021, the Manhattan district attorney's office subpoenaed the New York City Tax Commission, suggesting it sought to examine the real estate values Trump had claimed related to his property taxes.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Eisler |first1=Peter |last2=Szep |first2=Jason |date=19 February 2021 |title=New York City Tax Agency Subpoenaed In Trump Criminal Probe |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/manhattan-district-attorney-cy-vance-trump-probe_n_603092fac5b66dfc101ec310 |access-date=2021-02-20 |website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en}}</ref>
== Contents of returns ==
In 2019, ''The New York Times'' obtained partial information from transcripts of Trump's IRS [[Form 1040]]s (the main personal federal tax form) from 1985 to 1994,<ref name="Buettner" /> revealing that during that time Trump lost $1.17&nbsp;billion—the most of almost any individual U.S. taxpayer<ref name="Buettner" /><ref name="Red">{{cite news|last1=Buettner|first1=Russ|last2=Craig|first2=Susanne|title=Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html|access-date=May 7, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 7, 2019|archive-date=May 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507235913/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html|url-status=live}}</ref>—evidently to avoid tax liability in eight of those years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-early-financial-losses-were-so-steep-that-he-did-not-pay-income-taxes-for-eight-years-according-to-new-report/2019/05/07/cb019e4a-7120-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html|title=Trump's early financial losses were so steep that he did not pay income taxes for eight years, according to new report|last=Fahrenthold|first=David A.|date=May 5, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 5, 2019|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508015459/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-early-financial-losses-were-so-steep-that-he-did-not-pay-income-taxes-for-eight-years-according-to-new-report/2019/05/07/cb019e4a-7120-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="5 takeaways 2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/us/trump-tax-figures.html|title=5 Takeaways From 10 Years of Trump Tax Figures|last1=Craig|first1=Susanne|last2=Buettner|first2=Russ|date=May 7, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508230331/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/us/trump-tax-figures.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Trump has acknowledged tax advantages inherent to the real-estate business, such as large write-offs from using depreciation of property to generate losses and reduce tax liabilities, which according to the ''Times'' "cannot account for the hundreds of millions of dollars in losses."<ref name="Red" /><ref name="5 takeaways 2019" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/trump-defends-tax-tactics-after-nyt-story-says-he-racked-up-more-than-1-billion-in-losses-it-was-sport.html|title=Trump defends tax tactics after NYT probe says he racked up more than $1 billion in losses: 'It was sport'|last=Calia|first=Mike|date=May 8, 2019|publisher=[[CNBC]]|access-date=May 8, 2019|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508112625/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/trump-defends-tax-tactics-after-nyt-story-says-he-racked-up-more-than-1-billion-in-losses-it-was-sport.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''The New York Times'' investigation===
<!--summary of findings and intro-->
On September 27, 2020, ''The New York Times'' published a report on more than two decades of Trump's tax-return data, including information from 2017 and 2018 (his first two years in office), having obtained the data earlier that month.<ref name="Buettner" /> The documents contradict many of Trump's public claims to have a flourishing and prosperous business empire,<ref name="Buettner">{{cite news |first1=Russ |last1=Buettner |first2=Susanne |last2=Craig |first3=Mike |last3=McIntire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html |title=Long-Concealed Records Show Trump's Chronic Losses and Years of Tax Avoidance |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 27, 2020 |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927211558/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html |url-status=live}}</ref> showing that as a result of reporting losses in many years and receiving a $72.9&nbsp;million tax refund, Trump paid no net federal income taxes in 11 of 18 years of the past two decades. After the refund, Trump had an average tax bill of $1.4&nbsp;million per year over the 18 years.<ref name="Buettner" /><ref name="18Rev">{{cite news |first=David |last=Leonhardt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/trump-taxes-takeaways.html |title=18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 27, 2020 |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927224339/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/trump-taxes-takeaways.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax, and in 2017, he paid another $750 in federal income tax.<ref name="Buettner" /> This was much less than other recent presidents paid while in office. His immediate two predecessors, Obama and [[George W. Bush]], routinely paid $100,000 annually in federal income tax, and sometimes far more.<ref name="18Rev" /> In 2017, Trump's pre-credit tax liability was $7,435,857. All but $750 of this amount was negated by carried-over tax credits, of which he had $22.7&nbsp;million at the time. It is unclear why Trump chose not to completely cancel out his federal income tax liability.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Buettner |first1=Russ |last2=McIntire |first2=Mike |last3=Craig |first3=Susanne |last4=Collins |first4=Keith |date=2020-09-29 |title=Trump Paid $750 in Federal Income Taxes in 2017. Here's the Math. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/trump-750-taxes.html |access-date=2020-10-01 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001191227/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/trump-750-taxes.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The data does not reveal [[Wealth of Donald Trump|Trump's net worth]].<ref name="Buettner" /> Tax-return data largely lack specifics allowing for financial connections to be identified, and the data does not reveal any previously unknown [[Links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies|connections to Russia]].<ref name="Buettner" />
<!--tax avoidance in general, and losses attributed to businesses-->
In the 18 years examined by the ''Times'', Trump engaged in [[tax avoidance]] to a far greater extent than most affluent Americans (the top 0.001% of tax filers). Due to this avoidance, Trump paid "about $400&nbsp;million less in combined federal income taxes than a very wealthy person who paid the average for that group each year."<ref name="18Rev" /> While in many years Trump ended with little or no tax liability, there is no evidence he ever failed to file a return or pay his expected tax burden by the annual filing deadline (including extensions), even if such payments were later refunded when the returns were completed.<ref name="Buettner" /> Over two decades, Trump's golf courses and other businesses regularly lost significant amounts of money, which is one way Trump was able to reduce his tax liability.<ref name="18Rev" /> For example, in 2018 Trump reported $47.4&nbsp;million in losses,<ref name="Buettner" /> and since 2000, Trump reported total losses of $315.6&nbsp;million from his golf courses alone.<ref name="Buettner" /> While Trump had significant income in many years, including from ''[[The Apprentice (American TV series)|The Apprentice]]'', he placed millions of dollars into his businesses which recorded losses for the year.<ref name="Buettner" /><ref name="Lifeline">{{cite news |first1=Mike |last1=McIntire |first2=Russ |last2=Buettner |first3=Susanne |last3=Craig |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/28/us/donald-trump-taxes-apprentice.html |title=How Reality-TV Fame Handed Trump a $427 Million Lifeline |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 28, 2020 |access-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001172923/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/28/us/donald-trump-taxes-apprentice.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of these businesses also claimed significant non-cash losses for depreciation of owned properties, but this cannot account for the entirety of the losses Trump claimed on his returns.<ref name="18Rev" /> [[Trump Tower]] in New York is one of the few businesses Trump owns that turns an annual profit, but as of 2020 he still appeared to owe the $100&nbsp;million mortgage which was set to come due in 2022.<ref name="18Rev" />
<!--audit and current debt-->
Beginning in 2011, the IRS was auditing Trump's $72.9&nbsp;million tax refund covering multiple years of paid taxes; the audit was not resolved as of 2020.<ref name="Buettner" /><ref name="18Rev" /> If the IRS determines that the refund was improper, Trump would be required to repay more than $100&nbsp;million,<ref name="Buettner" /><ref name="18Rev" /> which includes interest on the amount. Trump has also personally guaranteed $421&nbsp;million in debt, most of which is due within four years. Trump previously expressed regret that he had personally guaranteed debt during the 1980s which brought him close to personal bankruptcy when his businesses faltered in the early 1990s.<ref name="Buettner" /> The bulk of the debt came from Trump's struggling [[Trump National Doral Miami|Doral golf resort]] ($125&nbsp;million) and the Washington, D.C., [[Trump International Hotel, Washington|Trump International Hotel]] ($160&nbsp;million).<ref name="Buettner" /> Trump also had failed to pay back $287&nbsp;million in debt since 2010, according to the ''Times'' "far more money than previously known". Forgiven debt is supposed to be treated as income, but Trump used tax provisions to avoid or defer reporting it as such.<ref name="Buettner" />
<!--potential violations examined by the Times-->
The ''Times'' notes that multiple potential violations of tax rules are present in the refunds examined. This includes the payment of "consulting fees" to Trump's daughter [[Ivanka Trump]] while she was a top executive at [[the Trump Organization]], which was used to reduce Trump's tax liability.<ref name="18Rev" /> Overall, Trump's companies appeared to claim 20% of their income was used for "consulting fees"{{snd}}which do not need to be explained further but can be written off as business expenses.<ref name="18Rev" /> Trump also appears to have aggressively classified personal-lifestyle related expenses as business expenses in order to write them off and reduce his liability.<ref name="18Rev" /> This includes at least $70,000 used for haircuts (some during the production of ''The Apprentice''), as well as more than $100,000 to a makeup artist and hair stylist favored by Ivanka Trump.<ref name="18Rev" /> In many years Trump also classified payments for his aircraft and its support as business expenses. Trump also classified [[Seven Springs (Bedford, New York)|Seven Springs]], his estate in [[Bedford (town), New York|Bedford, New York]], as an "investment property" in order to write off $2.2&nbsp;million in property taxes, even though the family uses it as a personal retreat.<ref name="18Rev" />
<!--misc info, including sources of income-->
Over the years examined, Trump reported receiving $73&nbsp;million in revenue from outside the U.S., including some from licensing deals in countries with authoritarian rulers.<ref name="Buettner" /> He was also paid more than $8.7&nbsp;million by the [[multilevel marketing]] company [[ACN Inc.]], which was accused of defrauding vulnerable consumers.<ref name="Lifeline" /> Trump shot promotional videos for the company, which was accused of consumer fraud in a lawsuit filed in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Maggie |last1=Haberman |first2=Benjamin |last2=Weiser |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/nyregion/trump-acn-lawsuit.html |title=Trump Persuaded Struggling People to Invest in Scams, Lawsuit Says |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 29, 2018 |access-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007144811/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/nyregion/trump-acn-lawsuit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Times'' reported that Trump's financial condition at the time he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015 "lends some credence to the notion that his long-shot campaign was at least in part a gambit to reanimate the marketability of his name".<ref name="Buettner" />
====Responses and analysis====
Trump dismissed the ''Times'' report,<ref name="BBCNoTax">{{Cite news|date=September 28, 2020|title=Trump on paying no tax: 'It's fake news'|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-54322121|url-status=live|access-date=September 28, 2020|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928064219/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-54322121}}</ref> responding with a blend of denials and justifications.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jordyn |last=Phelps |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-white-house-blend-denials-justifications-reaction-york/story?id=73291795 |title=Trump, White House blend denials, justifications in reaction to New York Times story on his taxes |work=ABC News |date=September 28, 2020 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929144441/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-white-house-blend-denials-justifications-reaction-york/story?id=73291795 |url-status=live }}</ref> He criticized what he called the "bad intent" of the report, but did not dispute the facts behind it.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Wagner |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/09/28/trump-biden-live-updates/ |title=In tweets, Trump does not dispute facts of Times taxes report but criticizes its 'bad intent' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 28, 2020 |access-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928152848/https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/09/28/trump-biden-live-updates/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He also contended that the tax authorities had mistreated him.<ref name="BBCNoTax" />
House speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]] said Trump's indebtedness raises concerns about national security, since it represents "over $400&nbsp;million in leverage that somebody has over the president" and it was not known to whom the debt is owed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/speaker-pelosi-says-trump-s-taxes-reveal-national-security-issue-n1241255|title=Speaker Pelosi says Trump's taxes reveal 'national security' issue|last=Edelman|first=Adam|date=September 28, 2020|publisher=[[NBC News]]|access-date=28 September 2020|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928210217/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/speaker-pelosi-says-trump-s-taxes-reveal-national-security-issue-n1241255|url-status=live}}</ref>
Writing for ''[[New York Daily News]]'', investigative journalist [[David Cay Johnston]] opined that the returns could help convict Trump in [[New York investigations of The Trump Organization|the Manhattan district attorney's criminal probe]], stating that they evidence "easy-to-prove state income tax fraud charges". According to Johnston, the returns are "rich with what the IRS calls 'badges of fraud,'" such as "hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexplained expenses" on numerous [[Schedule&nbsp;C]] forms showing zero income and "revenues and expenses that [suspiciously match] to the dollar". Johnston said these methods were used by Trump in 1984 and found by New York judges to constitute civil tax fraud.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=David Cay |date=2023-01-08 |title=Alvin Bragg's roadmap to convict Donald Trump |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-trump-taxes-20230108-kzmcjigc4nfq7ep2eroeougiha-story.html |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=[[New York Daily News]]}}</ref>
The ''Daily News'' separately argued that the returns "show that Trump is a proven liar", specifically claiming that in both 2014 and 2015 he was erroneously awarded $300 for a New York school property tax exemption, which is only for people with a federal [[adjusted gross income]] (AGI) under $500,000. Trump refunded hundreds of dollars and did not claim the break again, but his returns from 2015 to 2017 and 2020 report negative AGI—making him eligible for the exemption in those years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-23 |title=Trump tax returns prove his lies: His STAR property breaks were correct as he had negative income |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-trump-taxes-20230123-jvyof2bl2nf67osfvc3t6etfly-story.html |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=[[New York Daily News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127041012/https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-trump-taxes-20230123-jvyof2bl2nf67osfvc3t6etfly-story.html |archive-date=27 January 2023 }}</ref>
===Trump International Hotel and Tower tax breaks===
In May 2024, ''The New York Times'' and [[ProPublica]] revealed that Trump improperly used tax breaks relating to [[Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)|his skyscraper in Chicago]], claiming in 2010 that the transfer of funds into a partnership constituted a $168&nbsp;million loss.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/us/trump-taxes-audit-chicago.html |title=Trump May Owe $100 Million From Double-Dip Tax Breaks, Audit Shows |date=May 11, 2024 |last1=Buettner |first1=Russ |last2=Kiel |first2=Paul |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 11, 2024}}</ref>
== Reactions ==
=== Tax March protests ===
{{main|Tax March}}
In January 2017, an [[online petition]] on the "We the People" portion of the White House's website calling for the release of Trump's tax returns was set up.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ellis |first=Emma Grey |date=January 26, 2017 |title=A Petition Didn't Make Trump Give Up His Tax Returns – But It Made Him Listen |language=en-US |newspaper=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2017/01/petition-didnt-make-trump-give-tax-returns-made-listen/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128213639/https://www.wired.com/2017/01/petition-didnt-make-trump-give-tax-returns-made-listen/ |archive-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref> The petition gained more than a million signatures, becoming the most signed petition on the White House's website. However, the White House gave no official response to the petition as of April 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lam |first1=Bourree |date=April 15, 2017 |title=The Fight Over Trump's Tax Returns Isn't Over |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/trump-tax-march/523116/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320130331/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/trump-tax-march/523116/ |archive-date=March 20, 2019 |access-date=April 9, 2019 |work=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref> Trump spokesperson [[Kellyanne Conway]] then said that "The White House response is that he's not going to release the tax returns" and that "people didn't care" about Trump's tax returns.<ref>{{cite news |last=Revesz |first=Rachel |date=January 22, 2017 |title=Kellyanne Conway says President Trump will not release his tax returns |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-kellyanne-conway-tax-returns-will-not-release-under-audit-conflicts-of-interest-a7540621.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007155414/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-kellyanne-conway-tax-returns-will-not-release-under-audit-conflicts-of-interest-a7540621.html |archive-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref> In response, [[Jennifer Taub]] and others planned the Tax March on April 15, 2017 ([[Tax Day]]) to demand that Trump release his tax returns;<ref>{{cite news |last=Jamieson |first=Amber |date=April 12, 2017 |title=Tax March: how a law professor sparked a global event to demand Trump's returns |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/12/tax-march-trump-tax-returns-activism-jennifer-taub |url-status=live |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026120219/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/12/tax-march-trump-tax-returns-activism-jennifer-taub |archive-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> tens of thousands of people marched in New York and dozens of cities across the country.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 15, 2017 |title='Tax March' protests demand release of Trump's tax returns |publisher=[[CBS News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-march-protests-demand-donald-trump-to-release-tax-returns/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017192707/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-march-protests-demand-donald-trump-to-release-tax-returns/ |archive-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Francescani |first1=Chris |last2=Ramstack |first2=Tom |date=April 15, 2017 |title=Thousands at rallies demand Trump release tax returns |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-taxes/thousands-at-rallies-demand-trump-release-tax-returns-idUSKBN17H0FW |url-status=live |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017192644/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-taxes/thousands-at-rallies-demand-trump-release-tax-returns-idUSKBN17H0FW |archive-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref>
===California primary election law===
On July 30, 2019, California governor [[Gavin Newsom]] signed the Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act (S.B. 27), a law requiring candidates for president and California governor, as a condition for gaining California [[ballot access]], to release their most recent five years of federal tax returns at least 98 days ahead of the primary election (which would be November 26, 2019, for the 2020 primaries, since the California primary is on March 3, 2020).<ref name="BeckerSullivan">{{cite news |last1=Becker |first1=Stephanie |last2=Sullivan |first2=Kate |date=November 21, 2019 |title=California Supreme Court says law requiring presidential candidates to turn over tax returns is invalid |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/21/politics/california-tax-returns-trump/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215080129/https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/21/politics/california-tax-returns-trump/index.html |archive-date=December 15, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nytimes-30jul2019" /><ref name="guardian-30jul2019">{{cite news |date=July 30, 2019 |title=California governor signs law that would require Trump to release tax returns |work=[[The Guardian]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/california-governor-signs-law-that-would-require-trump-to-release-tax-returns |url-status=live |access-date=July 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730182808/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/california-governor-signs-law-that-would-require-trump-to-release-tax-returns |archive-date=July 30, 2019}}</ref>
Trump immediately sued the State of California, seeking to block implementation of the law, asserting that the law is unconstitutional.<ref name="CalInjunction">{{cite news |last=Myers |first=John |date=September 19, 2019 |title=Federal judge blocks California law to force disclosure of Trump's tax returns |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-19/trump-tax-returns-federal-court-challenge-california |url-status=live |access-date=October 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019131114/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-19/trump-tax-returns-federal-court-challenge-california |archive-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> On September 19, 2019, U.S. district judge [[Morrison C. England]] issued a temporary injunction blocking the law from taking effect.<ref name="CalInjunction" /> California appealed; [[California Secretary of State|California secretary of state]] [[Alex Padilla]] said: "Our elected leaders have a legal and moral obligation to be transparent with voters about potential conflicts of interest. This law is fundamental to preserving and protecting American democracy."<ref>{{cite news |last=Myers |first=John |date=October 2, 2019 |title=California will appeal judge's decision to block law requiring Trump's tax returns |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-01/california-appeal-judge-trump-tax-returns |url-status=live |access-date=October 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016160052/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-01/california-appeal-judge-trump-tax-returns |archive-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref> In December 2019, the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] dismissed California's appeal of the federal district court decision as [[Mootness|moot]], in light of the California Supreme Court's decision (see below).<ref>{{cite news |last=Tay |first=Daniel |date=December 17, 2019 |title=9th Circ. Tosses Suits On Calif.'s Invalidated Tax Return Law |work=[[Law360]] |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1229287/9th-circ-tosses-suits-on-calif-s-invalidated-tax-return-law |url-status=live |access-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223164155/https://www.law360.com/articles/1229287/9th-circ-tosses-suits-on-calif-s-invalidated-tax-return-law |archive-date=December 23, 2019}}</ref>
The law was separately challenged in state court, and in November 2019, the [[California Supreme Court]] unanimously invalidated the law,<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 21, 2019 |title=Jessica Millan Patterson et al., Petitioners, v. Alex Padilla, as Secretary of State, etc., Respondent. S257302 |url=https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/archive/S257302.PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828034215/https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/archive/S257302.PDF |archive-date=August 28, 2020 |access-date=August 20, 2020 |work=[[Supreme Court of California]]}}</ref> meaning that Trump did not have to release his tax returns to get on the primary ballot in California in 2020.<ref name="BeckerSullivan" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Bryan |date=November 21, 2019 |title=California can't force Donald Trump to release tax returns, state Supreme Court rules |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article237248624.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122010709/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article237248624.html |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |access-date=November 21, 2019 |website=The Sacramento Bee}}</ref> Chief Justice [[Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye]] wrote that "The Legislature may well be correct that a presidential candidate's income tax returns could provide California voters with important information" but that the requirement to release the returns conflicted with the [[California Constitution]]'s "specification of an inclusive open presidential primary ballot".<ref name="BeckerSullivan" />
===New York State TRUST Act===
In May 2019, the [[New York State Senate]] passed the TRUST Act, which would amend state law to permit the commissioner of [[New York State Department of Taxation and Finance|the state Department of Taxation and Finance]] to release any state tax return requested by the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee, the [[Senate Finance Committee]] or the [[Joint Committee on Taxation]] for any "specific and legitimate legislative purpose."<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Allan |date=May 8, 2019 |title=N.Y. state Senate passes bill allowing Congress to get Trump tax returns; The state Senate also passed legislation that would make it easier for the state to prosecute individuals who were pardoned by the president. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-state-senate-passes-bill-allowing-congress-get-trump-tax-n1003396 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923155029/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-state-senate-passes-bill-allowing-congress-get-trump-tax-n1003396 |archive-date=September 23, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019 |publisher=[[NBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Naham |first=Matt |date=May 8, 2019 |title=New York Senate Passes Bill to Let Congress See President Trump's State Tax Returns |url=https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/new-york-senate-passes-bill-to-let-congress-see-president-trumps-state-tax-returns |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508231427/https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/new-york-senate-passes-bill-to-let-congress-see-president-trumps-state-tax-returns/ |archive-date=May 8, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019 |website=LawAndCrime.com}}</ref> The [[New York State Assembly]] approved the bill on May 22, sending it to the governor.<ref name="NYT-bill" /> On July&nbsp;8, Governor [[Andrew M. Cuomo]] signed the bill.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hagen |first=Lisa |date=July 8, 2019 |title=Cuomo Signs Bill Allowing New York to Release Trump's State Tax Returns |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-07-08/cuomo-signs-bill-allowing-new-york-to-release-trumps-state-tax-returns |url-status=live |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234318/https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-07-08/cuomo-signs-bill-allowing-new-york-to-release-trumps-state-tax-returns |archive-date=November 7, 2020}}</ref>
Trump sued the state and the House Ways and Means Committee fifteen days later to block release of the tax returns.<ref name="TrumpSuitNY">{{cite news |last1=Fandos |first1=Nicholas |last2=McKinley |first2=Jesse |date=July 23, 2019 |title=Trump Sues New York and Congress to Shield His State Tax Returns |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-new-york.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724035547/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-new-york.html |archive-date=July 24, 2019}}</ref> In November 2019, Trump's suit was dismissed on [[personal jurisdiction]] grounds.<ref name="Polantz">{{cite news |last=Polantz |first=Katelyn |date=November 11, 2019 |title=Trump can't sue New York state in DC federal court to stop release of tax returns, judge says |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/11/politics/donald-trump-tax-returns/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111221642/https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/11/politics/donald-trump-tax-returns/index.html |archive-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref>
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
* [https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-irs-audit-chicago-hotel-taxes "IRS Audit of Trump Could Cost Former President More Than $100 Million"] (May 11, 2024) by ''[[ProPublica]]''
==External links==
* {{Commons-inline|italic=yes}}
* [https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Attachment_E.zip Donald J. Trump full tax filings, 2015-2020] (1.2 GB)
* [https://www.scribd.com/document/617087022/Individual-1040-Only-2015-2020 Donald J. Trump form 1040 only, 2015-2020]
* {{cite web |url=https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/2022.12.20%20Final%20Report%20House%20Ways%20and%20Means.pdf |title=Report on the Internal Revenue Service's Mandatory Audit Program Under the Prior Administration (2017-2020) |date=December 20, 2022 |author=House Committee on Ways and Means}}
{{Donald Trump}}
{{Trump businesses}}
[[Category:Donald Trump]]
[[Category:United States tax law]]
[[Category:Controversies of the 2016 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Donald Trump controversies|Tax returns]]
[[Category:Finances of presidents of the United States]]