Republicans have again voted against forcing Donald Trump to release his tax returns.
In a 21-14 vote, the tax committee of the House of Representatives rejected another Democratic resolution directing the Treasury Department to provide Congress with the President’s tax returns and other financial information.
Democratic congressman Bill Pascrell had introduced the resolution shortly before the House left for its month-long August recess.
“We know that the tangled web of the President’s potential conflicts cannot be understood without a full picture of his business empire,” Mr Pascrell said at the time. “And with the Congress scheduled to consider tax reform, requesting the returns of the President and his business interests should be the first order of the day.”
Mr Trump was the first presidential candidate in decades to not disclose his tax returns – much to the chagrin of Democrats, media outlets and other members of the public.
In January, less than a month before Mr Trump would become President, the Pew Research Center released a poll showing that 60 per cent of 1,502 people surveyed said he had a responsibility to release his tax returns.
Democrats’ latest attempt to get Mr Trump to do so came as the President started prioritising a US tax code overhaul.
During an interview with the Economist in May, Mr Trump was asked whether he would release his tax returns in exchange for Democratic support for his tax plan.
“I doubt it,” Mr Trump responded. “Nobody cares about my tax return except for the reporters. Oh, at some point I’ll release them. Maybe I’ll release them after I’m finished because I’m very proud of them actually. I did a good job.”
During his campaign, Mr Trump said he would not disclose his tax returns because he was being audited by the IRS. But the IRS said he could release them, regardless of an audit.
