Washington, US: The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for former President Mr. Donald Trump’s tax forms to be made available to a Democratic-controlled Congressional Committee.
The Court rejected Mr. Trump’s emergency application on October 31st to overturn a lower court’s ruling upholding the Ways and Means Committee’s right to acquire his tax records as a justified part of the panel’s legislative work.
The move is a blow to Mr. Trump, who has for years kept his returns sealed.
Mr. Trump became the first President in 40 years not to release his taxes after announcing his initial Presidential run. Since 2019, the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee has been seeking access to his records.
The ruling allows the US Treasury Department to deliver the tax returns from Mr. Trump and some of his businesses to the Democratic-Controlled Committee.
The Committee will have little time to finish its work on the returns before a Republican takes control of the House. The Committee has requested six years’ worth of Mr. Trump’s tax papers, from 2015 to 2020.
This rises above politics, and the Committee will now conduct the oversight that we’ve sought for the last three and a half years.
Mr. Richard Neal, Ways and Means Chairman, stated.
Mr. Neal also added that the Supreme Court’s action upholds the principle of congressional oversight.
In its filing, the Committee noted that, “IRS policy does not address what to do regarding a president who, like former President Mr. Trump, owned hundreds of business entities, had inordinately complex returns, used aggressive tax avoidance strategies and allegedly had ongoing audits.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have claimed that the Committee’s real aim was to publicly expose his tax returns and unearth politically damaging information about the former President.