Last week, we inched closer to knowing just what, if any, conflicts or tax evasions our Commander in Chief is hiding from the American people. During a House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing, Democratic members made their case for why it is imperative to see President Trump’s tax returns.
Since announcing his candidacy, President Trump has refused to release his tax returns, making him the first president to do so since Ford and putting the country in the dark concerning how far his business interests reach. For a man that has bragged of making massive international business deals throughout his entire career, this is an absolutely reasonable request.
Unsurprisingly, the President’s party has made the argument that it is important to protect taxpayers’ privacy. While this is true, the President of the United States is not just any taxpayer, and his financial dealings cannot and should not be a secret to the American people. For Republicans on the committee to pick this hill to die on after years of their nominees following the tradition of releasing their tax records should not surprise voters, but it should worry them.
The fact of the matter is, the majority of Americans are on House Democrats’ side, as is the law. A recent poll shows that almost two-thirds of voters want to see the President’s tax returns. Roughly the same percent of Americans have called on the President to release his tax returns since the beginning of his presidency. So, not only is requesting Trump’s tax returns the popular thing to do, but it’s legal. The federal tax code empowers the chairmen of Congress’s tax committees to request and review anyone’s tax returns from the Treasury Department.
Still, opponents of transparency are saying Democrats are only doing this to punish Trump. The truth is, the President should have nothing to fear is he is in fact not compromised by special interests, either foreign or domestic, or evading taxes. Someone who was innocent would welcome the opportunity to clear the air and prove he is in office to serve the people, not turn a profit. With House Democrats in the majority, we will finally know the truth.