Why is everyone still harping on Trump’s tax returns? His administration has flat-out said he has no intention of releasing them, even though he promised multiple times to do so during his campaign. He seems to think that, now that he’s in the White House, it’s time for the world to acknowledge and behave as though he won and…shut the hell up about trivialities like his taxes.
They’re not trivial, though. His taxes will help us uncover the truth about his conflicts of interest, particularly those inside the borders of hostile powers like…oh…RUSSIA. Which is probably why he won’t release them. So New York, fed up with Congress and everyone else for not pushing the issue, has created their own way to force Trump’s tax returns out to the public: Require the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance “to release income tax information and returns for statewide elected officials, including the President of the United States,” within 30 days of their taking the oath of office.
This would only apply to the state’s returns, so we still wouldn’t see Trump’s federal returns. But this is New York. Trump files state taxes there, so those could be just as enlightening as his federal returns.
One of the reasons this is brilliant is because it doesn’t target any one political party And since New York is a blue state, more Democrats than Republicans would find themselves affected, so the GOP would hardly be able to make any kind of a case that the state is targeting Republicans and their taxes.
But what about privacy? Personal information such as addresses, Social Security numbers, etc., would be redacted. As for the rest of the info, one particular tax law expert, Assemblyman David Buchwald, says that there is no inherent right to privacy when it comes to New York’s tax returns. Title 26 of the U.S. code applies to federal taxes, including its confidentiality subsection. But since New York wouldn’t be releasing federal returns, that may not apply.
New York’s plan is different from other states’ ideas to require candidates for office to release their taxes before they qualify for the ballot. Since tax returns would be posted within 30 days of an official taking their oath of office, it would help people know what to demand of those they elect. It would also help them to decide whether or not to re-elect someone.
There is an actual governmental interest in requiring tax information for public officials to be published – the people who elect officials have a right to know how likely it is that those officials will work in the people’s interest over their own. This is especially true when it comes to tweaking and reforming tax laws. Trump could save tens of millions in federal taxes with his tax plan, whereas many regular Americans could see their taxes go up.
That’s a pretty big conflict of interest. So, if New York’s law passes, we could finally get a glimpse of Trump’s dealings and thus, a better idea of how much he’s working to serve his own financial interests above everyone else’s. Expect Trump to throw a fit, though. He’s hiding something.
Featured image by Mark Wilson via Getty Images
