House Democrats to Trump: We won’t consider tax reform until you release your tax returns

House Democrats to Trump: We won’t consider tax reform until you release your tax returns

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

For the sixth week in a row, Democrats in Congress have attempted to force President Donald Trump to release his tax returns — this time by threatening to delay any tax reform legislation until he does so.

Trump has said tax reform is the next big agenda item the White House plans to tackle. This comes after the administration oversaw a disastrous attempt to negotiate the repeal of the Affordable Care Act with House Republicans. But New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries wants to make sure the president can’t restructure the nation’s tax code before first releasing his own tax returns.

On Monday, Jeffries introduced a resolution that, according to the Hill, “would direct the House to delay consideration of tax-reform legislation until after lawmakers review Trump’s tax returns and determine how the president could benefit from tax-code changes.”

Last month, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow disclosed two pages of Trump’s 2005 tax return. The documents revealed that Trump and his wife, Melania, paid $38 million in taxes on $153 million in income — most as an alternative minimum tax (AMT).

Yet in the public sphere, Trump has called for eliminating the AMT, which requires high-income taxpayers to pay a minimum amount in taxes if they claim certain itemized deductions.

Jeffries’ resolution also calls for the House Ways and Means Committee to obtain and review Trump’s returns in a closed session.

The chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee and Joint Committee on Taxation have the power to request individual tax information from the Treasury Department.

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