The House Ways and Means Committee voted on Tuesday to release a trove of documents detailing Donald Trump’s tax returns, giving public access to long-awaited information related to the former president’s financial records.
The panel voted 24-16 to release six years’ worth of Trump’s tax returns to the broader House of Representatives after a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, with the Joint Committee on Taxation posting a separate report online shortly after. The release comes after House Democrats gained access to the records earlier this month, seeking to examine whether the IRS audit of the former president was conducted “fully and appropriately.”
The records detail how much Trump paid — or didn’t pay — in income, deductions, and taxes during his White House term. Here are four key takeaways from the initial report:
HOUSE PANEL VOTES TO RELEASE TRUMP TAX RETURNS AFTER MULTIYEAR DEMOCRATIC QUEST
IRS failed to audit Trump’s records properly while in office
Although the Internal Revenue Service is required to conduct annual audits of sitting presidents’ tax returns, the agency failed to do so during Trump’s first two years in office, according to the committee’s report.
Throughout the course of Trump’s term, the IRS only began one audit which wasn’t completed before he left the White House in 2021, the panel found. It’s unclear why the audits were never conducted, and the report does not suggest Trump pressured the agency.
“The Ways & Means Committee’s solemn oversight work has revealed the urgent need for legislation to ensure the public can trust in real accountability and transparency during the audit of a sitting president’s tax returns – not only in the case of President Trump, but for any president,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “The American people deserve to know without question that no one is above the law.”
Trump declared negative income during first years in White House
The former president repeatedly paid little to no money in federal income taxes from 2015 to 2020, often claiming major business losses to offset his income, according to the report.
Trump declared negative income on his federal returns in 2015, 2016, and 2017, with $0 taxable income for each year, according to the report. However, the report by Democrats on Tuesday found that the former president was making tens of millions of dollars annually from 2015 to 2020.
Some of the most notable numbers from the report include Trump’s 2016 and 2017 tax returns, in which he declared negative income and paid only $750 in tax returns for both years, the report shows. In 2020, he similarly reported a negative income and paid $0 — instead claiming a $5.47 million tax refund.
Trump decried release as part of ‘political game’
Trump has long fought against the release of his tax returns while he was in office and even after he left. However, his efforts were shot down by the Supreme Court last month when it ruled the House Ways and Means Committee could have access to his tax returns.
While in office, Trump repeatedly claimed his returns were under IRS audits that justified his refusal to release the records to the public. While it was not mandatory to release his tax returns, Trump’s actions broke with a yearslong tradition that saw presidents voluntarily releasing their records to the public.
Trump responded to the panel’s vote to release his tax returns publicly on Tuesday, denouncing the move as being politically motivated.
“If they are so hell-bent on releasing President Trump’s tax returns — which show he built a very successful business and created numerous lucrative assets throughout his career — they should release the tax returns of Nancy Pelosi,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, in a statement to Newsweek.
What next?
The House Ways and Means Committee will now prepare to release six years’ worth of Trump’s tax returns for public review, detailing the former president’s tax payments, charitable donations, and other financial obligations.
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It’s not clear when the full trove of documents will be released to the public, as the panel must first redact any sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and bank account information. The records will come at a crucial time for Trump as he seeks a third White House bid and attempts to fight off a handful of other criminal investigations.
House Democrats scrambled to get their hands on Trump’s tax returns to release publicly before the end of the year, seeking to accomplish the yearslong goal before the party cedes control of the lower chamber to Republicans in January.
