IRS ordered to hand over Donald Trump tax returns to Congress

IRS ordered to hand over Donald Trump tax returns to Congress
Donald Trump still has ways to try to fight the justice department's ruling in court. Source: Getty Images
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Daily US Times: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been ordered by the US justice department to hand over former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to Congress.

The order reverses a 2019 finding that the request from the House Ways and Means Committee was “disingenuous”.

The decision appears to end a long legal battle over the tax records of Donald Trump, and is seen as a sharp legal blow to the former president.

Although not required by law, every president in the United States since 1976 has released their tax returns – except Mr Trump.

Mr Trump, a Republican, is yet to publicly comment on the latest development, although he still has ways to try to fight the ruling in court.

Republican law makers on Capitol Hill denounced the decision, describing it as politically motivated.

When he was president, Donald Trump repeatedly said he was under audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and so could not release his tax returns – although the IRS has said an audit wouldn’t stop the release of the information.

Previously, the House Ways and Means Committee has argued that it required Mr Trump’s tax returns for an investigation into whether he complied with tax law.

However, the Trump-era justice department refused to hand them over, arguing that the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives was seeking them for partisan political gain.

The justice department’s Office of Legal Counsel said in an opinion released on Friday that the committee “has invoked sufficient reasons” for requesting the tax information.

The opinion said, “Treasury must furnish the information to the Committee.”

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